The Impact of HIV/AIDS on Fertility Aspirations and Control in Uganda

Rachel Snow, University of Michigan
Massy Mutumba, University of Michigan
Gregory Powers, University of Michigan
Lindsey Evans, University of Michigan
Edith Rukundo, Mbarara University
Lenard Abesiga, Mbarara University
Joy Kabasindi, Mbarara University
Tegan Ford, University of Michigan
Linda Okoh, University of Michigan
Godfrey Mugyenyi, Mbarara University

Little attention has been given to the impact of HIV+ status on women’s fertility aspirations and childbearing intentions, especially in countries with endemic HIV and high fertility norms. We conducted a survey of 1,594 women age 18-49 visiting non-urgent services at Mbarara Regional Hospital in Uganda, a country with a TFR of 6.7. Among these women, 59.6% were HIV+ and 40.4% were HIV-. Among the HIV+ women, 96.4% were on ART. Controlling for age, HIV+ women were less likely to be married (53.6% vs 82.1%), due to dramatically higher probabilities of widowhood (7x) and separation (3x). Among those pregnant when surveyed, 36.6% of HIV+ women reported the pregnancy to be a “big problem” compared to 11.4% of the HIV- women. Based on multiple regression modeling, HIV+ women were significantly less likely to want more children compared to HIV- women, net of marriage, age, parity, education, and HH income.