ABSTRACT
Objective:
to know the social representations that involve the desire to conceive of women living with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus.
Methods:
exploratory-descriptive study with qualitative approach, carried out with 21 women who were at the Professor Alberto Antunes University Hospital (Alagoas/Brasil) and at the Salgadinho Medical Care Unit, reference centers for people living with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus/AIDS, in the period from May to June/2016.The data was collected through a semi-structured and audio-recorded interview technique, submitted to content analysis from Bardin’s perspective. The Theory of Social Representations was used as theoretical reference.
Results:
it was evidenced in the study that the social representations of women living with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus that have the desire to conceive is still experienced in a dramatic way by women, causing the appearance of several feelings that cause an internal conflict in them. The feelings arising from the representations evidenced in the studies were: fear, frustration, impotence, guilt, sadness, uncertainty, apprehension, anguish, depression and rejection.
Conclusion:
the representations created throughout life history interfere with reproductive decisions. For women living with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus, the decision to conceive, or not, is influenced by the possible risk of vertical transmission, the inability to breastfeed, the treatment, and the social and moral aspects that would affect them and their children.
DESCRIPTORS:
Pregnancy; Human Immunodeficiency Virus; Nursing; Family Power; Qualitative Research