Abstract:
The present study aims to understand, through a literature review, the perception of
HIV positive postpartum women about breastfeeding. Despite the nutritional and health
benefits of breastfeeding, in some cases, breast milk can serve as a vector for
transmitting infectious pathogens from mother to child, such as HIV-positive women.
This is an integrative literature review. The selected databases were the Latin
American and Caribbean Health Sciences Information System – LILACS, National
Library of Medicine – MEDLINE, Scientific Electronic Library online – SciELO and
National Library of Medicine – PubMed. The inclusion criteria adopted for the pre selection of the studies were the English, Portuguese or Spanish language and
publications between the years 2012 to 2022. During prenatal care, HIV positive
women are advised not to breastfeed, however it is It is important to find out what the
feeling of these puerperal women is when they learn about not breastfeeding. The main
feelings experienced by postpartum women about not breastfeeding are: fear, guilt,
sadness and insecurity in the face of indecision not to breastfeed. It has been shown
that due to the stigma still present in HIV-positive individuals, women who do not
breastfeed feel incapable of experiencing the role of "being a mother" in the first years
of the baby's life.
