How I gave birth to a HIV negative baby, while living with the virus
Lydia Ekitela during the interview on October 17, 2023.
Lydia Ekitela, a single mother living with HIV since 2012, did not know she could give birth to an HIV-negative child.
"After separating from the father of my two children, I became romantically involved with another man a year and a half later. As our love deepened, we became intimate without using protection," says Ekitela.
Three months later, Ms Ekitela started experiencing unusual health problems. Alarmed, she decided to get tested for HIV.
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"The test results were devastating; I was diagnosed with HIV. I felt a mixture of shock, fear and regret. Two months later, the man blamed me and insisted that it was my fault," she says. She says the HIV test also revealed that she was pregnant. This shocked her because she had always believed that a person living with HIV and Aids was infertile.
Ms Ekitela says: "The people I confided in told me to have an abortion because they thought I could not handle my situation. But every time I looked at my children, it gave me hope to carry the pregnancy to term.
County officials join community health workers for a dance during the launch of 100 days of Rapid Results Initiative to end Aids at Bondeni maternity on October 17, 2023.
According to Ms Ekitela, her daily courage came with the help of the doctors at Bondeni Maternity Hospital, where she received her antenatal care.
"I took every bit of advice from the doctors and never went a day without taking my ARV pills. And not only that, after my daughter was born, I gave her the drugs prescribed by the doctor to prevent transmission of the virus," she says.
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Mrs Ekitela emphasises that her daughter had to take the syrup for a year and a half, something she was very keen on.
Four years later, her four-year-old daughter is HIV-negative and healthy.
She was speaking at the launch of the 100 Days of Rapid Results Initiative to End Childhood Aids at the Bondeni Dispensary.
Recent data shows that the need for prevention of mother-to-child transmission has increased from 2,142 in 2021 to 2,634 in 2022.
This story was first published on Nakuru.Mtaawangu.
