Suffering from any types of disease is something that any person does not want to experience and yet, it is something that cannot be avoided in this lifetime. The suffering becomes more unbearable to some people when the disease that they have acquired is incurable such as Human Immuno Virus. Social stigma is atttached to the disease. Thailand is one of the third world countries that have an increasing number of residents who are infected with it. Most of those infected are women. Some of these infected woman are pregnant and on too of that, most are manifesting symptoms of depression. A study has been made to these HIV positive pregnant women. Some of them had been administered with treatments but there are ethical issues that need to be addressed. With it is the conclusion that the social stigma is one of the primary reasons that a number of the respondents had suffered from depression due to the fact that they lack medical assistance and financial capacity to find a cure while they are facing an uncertain future for themselves and their soon to be born baby.
“In developing countries, womens health involves a wide range of problems including high rates of pregnancy and maternal mortality, STIs and AIDs and lack of access to family planning. WHO estimates that about one-quarter of the worlds women are subject to violence and abuse in their own homes, with rates over 50 percent in Thailand, Papua New Guinea, and Korea. (Tulchinsky 2009, p. 248) More often than not, with the abuses that these women have gone through, the possibility of contacting an incurable disease such as HIV is relatively high. The future of these women have become grimmer when society have ostracized them for having such a disease even if it is not their fault that they were able to acquire it. Thus, experiencing depressive symptoms is a big possibility especially for pregnant women.
Generally, pregnant women are prone to experience depressive symptoms. Women who are in the best of health and are financially stable have experienced depression. Women who are suffering from a disease that are stigmatized by society are more likely to experience it even more. Knowing the stigma that is associated with the disease, a number of infected women choose not to reveal their sickness. However, the silence of these women may cause them their life or the life of those that they love especially if they choose not to make the necessary precautionary measures that prevents the spread disease. Women who are not aware of what to do will likely spread the disease unknowingly.
Women who chose to reveal themselves have endured the humiliation and harsh judgment from the community and even from their own family who choose not to understand. Yet, it is better for these pregnant mothers to reveal themselves early on to ensure that proper intervention and treatments are provided to them. It is their hope and a way to save themselves and their family. On the downside, intervention programs may not be available to some areas in Thailand. Traditionally, Thai women are responsible for the familys well-being. In the face of family instability brought about by a terminal illness, HIV-infected women have the increased burden of looking after their ill partners and their children while coping with their own HIV infection. Support programs for HIV-affected families will need to take into consideration the burdens that fall on HIV-infected women who have to function as a wife, mother, AIDS care provider and financial provider. (Manopaiboon, et al., 1998) Support programs are available. Some of these programs are limitedly provide while some are mere clinical trials to test the effectiveness of a drug. But the spread of the disease remains uncontrolled.
Intervention and education programs are a necessity to every HIV positive pregnant women in Thailand. Intervention can prolong the life of the mother and the child while an education program might help lessen the stigma that is associated with the disease. Education and awareness is the only way that ethical issues can be addressed such as whether or not to divulge a fact that a person is suffering from the said disease. In time, the social stigma that comes with the disease is eradicated too.
Social stigma also apply in this Covid 19 situation. The only difference is that HIV infects human from social intercourse and blood transfusion. While Covid 19 is from our saliva. Which makes HIV victims looks low-life because people assumes already that you acquired it from dirty living.