Incidence and Predictors of Pregnancy among HIV Positive Women on ART in North West Ethiopia, a Retrospective Cohort Study

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this study was to identify the prevalence and significant factors of incidence of pregnancy among HIV positive women under ART follow up. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was employed and a sample size of 429 was selected using simple random sampling technique. Both chi-square test of association and multiple binary logistic regression analysis were used. Results: The study has shown that 21.2% of women were pregnant during the follow-up. Variables like, WHO clinical stage, spouse’s HIV status, marital status, contraception use, body weight, occupation, CD4 count, age and time of ART were significant predictors of incidence of pregnancy. Conclusion: Women with advance WHO clinical stage were less likely to be pregnant. Women, who are married, employed, had never used contraceptive methods were more likely to had pregnancy. When CD4 cell count and body weight increase, incidence of pregnancy also increases and women who had longer time on ART were more likely to be pregnant. Health institutions and clinicians should be cautious when the patients have faced advanced WHO clinical stage and low CD4 count. We would like to put remarks of increasing employment of HIV Positive women, providing effective services of ART health care, and studying further investigation for the general wellbeing of mothers and their respective potentially born children.