Breastfeeding among HIV-1 infected women: Maternal health outcomes and social repercussions

Abstract

Worldwide, the majority of HIV-infected women live in resource-constrained areas and must breastfeed because replacement feeding is not a viable option for them due to its lack of feasibility, safety, and affordability [1]. The benefits of breastfeeding are many and are often overshadowed by the risk of HIV transmission in HIV-infected mother-infant pairs. Breastfeeding confers immunological benefits to infants [2], protects infants from diarrhea and pneumonia [3, 4], and may improve cognitive function, only to name a few [5]. In low-income countries, the benefits of breastfeeding are even greater than in high-resource countries. In 2000, the World Health Organization estimated that breastfeeding could prevent 1.3 million infant deaths worldwide [6, 7]. © 2012 Springer Science+Business Media New York.