In the year 2022, according to Pronasida data, there were 1,505 new cases of HIV, of which 28.57% are women. Within the right to exercise maternity, HIV-positive women come up against the stigma and discrimination that is still in force within society and in the health posts themselves, for which some women are disapproved of by medical personnel when deciding gestate.
Most women and men with new diagnoses are of reproductive ageTherefore, they have the right to decide whether or not to exercise maternity/paternity and that this right is guaranteed by the State.
Within many of the region’s hospitals there are testing and counseling for pregnant women in addition to planning the delivery by cesarean section before 37 weeks, but at the same time there is a lack of pediatric infectious diseases professionals.
Another aspect to take into account is that despite the care and efforts to eliminate vertical transmission in 2022 there were 7 cases. We cannot forget that, within the right to exercise maternity, the HIV-positive women encounter the stigma and discrimination that continues to exist within society and in the same health postswhich is why some HIV-positive women are disapproved by medical personnel when deciding to become pregnant.
Victoria Peraltaa member of the Movement for the Right to Health María Rivarola, affirmed that the obstetric violence is also any humiliating treatmentdegrading, offensive and dehumanizing that women experience in the stages related to pregnancy and childbirth, puerperium and on a daily basis in health services.
In addition, what is already established in Law 5777/16 of the conduct exercised by health personnel or empirical midwives on the body of women and of the physiological or pathological processes present during their pregnancy, and the stages related to gestation. and childbirth. It is at the same time a dehumanized treatment that violates the human rights of women.
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The violence and stigma that occurs within the process of gestation and childbirth puts women’s mental health at risk Since many find out about their serological status while pregnant, a study carried out in Argentina indicates that the impossibility of reaching the socially imposed ideal of maternity leads women to mourning processes that find no space to elaborate, deepening their feeling of guilt .
He also talks about the importance of social workers or assistantsin Paraguay we have the links of social organizations, one of these organizations is OPUMI (Organization for the same ideal) that provides its service in several hospitals and SAIS, the same health personnel talks about the importance of them and their role in the process of women who know their diagnosis and at the time of pregnancy.
It should be noted that there is a lot of work to do from prevention, in the spaces called ÑANGAREKO (differentiated care space for adolescents from 10 to 19 years old that operates in some health centers) the staff talks about late detection, many girls and adolescents come to the consultations with pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseasesl, in addition to having little or no information on comprehensive sexuality education.
Public policies and established laws must be complied with from a rights perspective oriented to the protection of a respected maternity from pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum, providing comprehensive means of interventions both in health and in the mitigation of stigma and discrimination.
To achieve this, it is essential to break with the individualistic notion of adherence and have comprehensive support networks that can cover the physical, social and psychological needs of women, seeing them beyond the role of motherhood (conceived from ideal stereotypes that generate a burden extra psychological) and their serological status.
It is urged to denounce these violations to human rights towards people living with HIV, and for this the Center for Counseling and Complaints on HIV/AIDS and Human Rights has means enabled for this purpose: the WhatsApp line that is the 0985 649 119 or the free line enabled from You *3535.
At the same time, it is treated confidentially in the local located in Mexico 732 almost Herrera. The NGO also has all the social networks and the website: www.denuncias-vih.org.py. The service is free and confidential.
