UGANDA: Women have to stop breast-feeding to prevent passing HIV to babies

African women infected with HIV/AIDS have to break with tradition and stop breast-feeding to prevent passing it on to their children, medical experts told delegates at a four-day conference on Global Strategy for the Prevention of HIV Transmission from Mothers to Infants, AP reported. Speaking at the conference in Kampala, the experts said 90 percent of the 1.5 million babies infected with HIV/AIDS are found in sub-Saharan African countries.

“The problem of breast-feeding in many countries in Africa is that the decision to feed does not always rest with the mother, but with close relatives, including mothers-in-law. They pressurise them to feed the baby,” Dr Lucy Connell of the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in South Africa, was reported as saying.

Professor Francis Mmiiro said infection rates in babies could be reduced by 70 to 80 percent if HIV-positive mothers stopped breast-feeding and took drugs that prevent mother-to-child transmission of the virus. “While it is possible to tell breast-feeding mothers in the Western world to stop ... here in the developing world it is not possible,” Dr Phillipa Musoke told the conference.

Meanwhile, UNICEF Executive Director Carol Bellamy told PlusNews last week that the choice for HIV-positive women to either breast feed their babies or use formula milk was the mother’s decision. Bellamy said: “I think its critical to understand that breast-feeding is still the most important thing a mother can do for her new born child”.

For the full article: http://www.reliefweb.int/IRIN/hiv_aids/hivfp.phtml

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[This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]