The impact of maternal HIV status on maternal and child mortality in Lesotho

Abstract

In Lesotho and many other developing countries, statistics on maternal and child mortality, because of the HIV status of the mother, are increasing day by day, regardless of the efforts made by the authorities to reduce and control them. Because of the critical contribution mortality makes to the growth rates of a nation, it is important to understand its impacts on the population. This study seeks to contribute to such an understanding by providing an assessment of child and maternal mortality because of the HIV status of the mother in Lesotho. It utilised data from the 2014 Lesotho Demographic and Health Survey and the 2011 Lesotho Demographic Survey. The study shows a slight increase in the number of child deaths, as well as the deaths of their mothers, because of HIV. This is due to the upsurge in the number of mother-to-child HIV transmissions, which have resulted from women refusing to test for HIV during pregnancy. The study also shows that women with higher education levels are infected more with HIV than those with no education; with women of a younger age dominating in this regard. Moreover, it indicates that maternal and child mortality, as a result of HIV, are mostly influenced by the age of the mother, her place of residence and her education attainment, although these are not the only contributing factors. The study depicts that depending on the place of residence (urban or rural residence) of a woman in Lesotho, the chances of death, due to a positive HIV status in women living in the rural areas, are high. The results show no significant evidence to indicate that marital status affects child and maternal mortality, but they reflect that married and people living with partner are more at risk of HIV. When it comes to education attainment, the research shows that 28.7% of women with secondary education are at risk of dying because of HIV status of the mother, and for those with no education, 18.6% are at risk of dying. Moreover, it shows that women in the age groups 25-29 are more at risk of being affected by the mortality (child or maternal), as a result of their HIV status.