Infant Feeding and HIV

This two-page paper by George Kent and David Crowe focuses on the language chosen to describe HIV and infant feeding in a UNICEF Fact Sheet published in September 2002 (Http://www.unicef.org/pubsgen/hiv-infantfeeding/hiv-infantfeeding-eng.pdf). The authors contend that the way the issue is framed "would lead policy and research in directions that are quite different from those suggested in UNICEF’s formulation. For the mother who must make a difficult choice, it is more important to know what outcomes are likely with different choices than to know why."

Kent and Crowe open their paper with this question: “'The risks of HIV infection have to be compared with the risks of illness and death faced by infants who are not breastfed.' What does this really mean?" They make seven specific recommendations for ways the UNICEF Fact Sheet could be rewritten.

As one example, they quote this statement from the UNICEF Fact Sheet "However, some HIV infections in infants are believed to occur during pregnancy or during the birth process." The authors then state, "the statement should be: 'The risks of illness and death due to HIV infection RESULTING FROM BREASTFEEDING have to be compared with the risks of illness and death faced by infants who are not breastfed.

Click here for the 2-page paper in PDF format found on AnotherLook's website.