Skip to main content
. 2010 Jun 23;13(Suppl 2):S4. doi: 10.1186/1758-2652-13-S2-S4

Table 1.

Summary of studies looking at pregnancy and reproduction intentions among men with HIV

Study Country N Gender (sexuality if given) Fatherhood finding
Paiva et al 2003 [10] Brazil 250 Men 43% desired children. Low support and input from health care and reproductive health providers.
Paiva et al 2007 [11] Brazil 739 Women (533), men (206): bisexual and heterosexual Desire for child (27.9%) more frequent among men than among women (50.1% versus 19.2%).
Bisexual men more likely to desire biologic children. Male gender, younger age, having no children, living with 1-2 children, and being in a heterosexual partnership were independently associated with desire to have children.
Heys et al 2010 [12] Uganda 421 (199 HIV+, 222 HIV-) Men (36%) and women (64%): heterosexual Odds ratio of wanting to stop childbearing was 6.25 times greater (p < 0.01) for people living with HIV.
Sherr & Barry 2004 [4] UK 32 Men (heterosexual) 59% said fatherhood gave meaning to their lives, high fertility desire, low support and access to health care input on reproduction.
Sherr & Barry 2003 [66] UK 84 Men (MSM) 77.6% said there was no discussion with a doctor about becoming a parent. 68.2% felt they were not sufficiently informed.
Chen et al 2001 [6] USA 1421 Men and women ** (M = bisexual or heterosexual, F = heterosexual) 59% of men expect to have a child. 20% of men who desire child have a partner who does not desire child.
Cooper et al 2009 [8] South Africa 459 Men (174) and women (285): heterosexual 57% of men were open to possibility of having children. Intention associated with being male, having fewer children and ART treatment.
Nakayiwa et al 2006 [13] Uganda 1092 Men (408) and women (604): heterosexual Men 4 times more likely to want children than women.
Oladapo et al 2005 [14] Nigeria 147 Men (52), women (95): heterosexual 71% of men intended to have a child (or more than one). Non-disclosure of HIV status to partner increased odds of child desire.
Panozzo et al 2003 [7] Switzerland 114 Men (68) and women (46) ** 38% expressed a desire for children, women more often than men.
Cooper et al 2007* [89] South Africa 61 Men and women Strong reproductive desires; treatment availability enhanced such desires.
Ko and Muecke 2005* [90] Taiwan 8 Men and women Optimism and high information seeking.
Smith and Mbakwem 2007* [91] Nigeria 22 Men and women Treatment enables reproductive goals for both men and women.
Ndlovu V et al 2009* [15] Zimbabwe 15 Couples (men and women, at least 1 HIV+) Treatment availability transformed intentions. None had extinguished intentions.

* = qualitative studies

** = studies which specifically excluded men who have sex with men exclusively