Maternal Health Care Use by Pregnant Women Living with HIV: Factors Associated with Prenatal, Delivery, and Postnatal Care in Haiti

This study compares maternal health care utilization of women living with HIV with that of their HIV-negative peers in Haiti. Data from the 2012-2013 Haiti Demographic and Health Survey were analyzed. Three percent of mothers were HIV-positive. These mothers had over two times greater odds than HIV-negative mothers of accessing prenatal care in the first trimester and to deliver in a medical institution, and 1.9 greater odds of having a medical personnel at delivery. Haiti has made progress in increasing maternal health care utilization, specifically in an effort to reduce mother-to-child-transmission of HIV. Haiti's ability to bring institutions together, implement practical policies, and actively engage the most vulnerable pregnant women, those with HIV and those residing in remote areas, may offer valuable insight to similar resource-poor nations seeking to reduce rates of mother-to-child transmission.