Epidemiological Profile of HIV/AIDS in Pregnant Women: 2018 to 2023

Abstract

Since its discovery in 1981 until today, HIV/AIDS has undergone transformations, highlighting the process of feminization, which highlighted a regrettable problem: vertical transmission of HIV/AIDS. This reality is permeated by challenges: the discovery of seropositivity, emotional difficulties, treatments and the risks of childbirth and breastfeeding. The objective of the study was to carry out an approach to the epidemiology of HIV/AIDS in pregnant women, from contamination to postpartum, permeating physical, mental and socioeconomic analyzes that affect pregnant women and their families, highlighting the role of health professionals on this theme. It is a review of the literature on the epidemiological profile of HIV/AIDS in pregnant women, the result of a critical analysis of 40 articles, with the inclusion of 17 of them to form a compilation on the topic. The socioeconomic level of women influences the standardization of the profile of those infected, with the form of contagion being through unprotected sexual relations with steady partners. Pregnant women are also affected by feelings of fear and guilt due to the possibility of vertical transmission and the impossibility of breastfeeding. The need for care, during and after pregnancy, with support from professionals, family and friends was understandable so that there is a reduction in cases of mother-to-child transmission. Therefore, monitoring during prenatal and postpartum periods minimizes the transmission of HIV/AIDS from HIV-positive women to their children. Therefore, greater research and approach to the subject is necessary so that contagion numbers become increasingly small.