Reproductive decision-making among HIV-positive couples in Taiwan.
OBJECTIVE
To explore the gender-based power relationships and social and cultural influences on reproductive decision-making processes among HIV-positive couples in Taiwan.


METHODS
The study sample consisted of 14 HIV-positive couples in southern Taiwan. Data were analyzed using feminist ethnography to explore reproductive decisions made by these couples within the context of Taiwanese society.


RESULTS
Self-knowledge of HIV status had a limited influence on decisions about childbearing. More important was the Confucian values of filial piety and familial obligation, a powerful norm that still dictates procreation decisions in Taiwan. The process by which the couples made reproductive decisions consisted of four stages: initial reproductive decisions between partners, their search for information, their encounters with medical systems, and their weighing risks and benefits. Male and female partners expressed different concerns, and gender-based power relationships were exercised during the decision-making process.


CONCLUSIONS
HIV status was not the sole determinant of reproductive decisions made by HIV-positive couples. Rather, the Confucian value of filial piety drove the couples' reproductive decisions.
Ko
Nai-Ying
NY
Department of Nursing, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan. nyko@mail.ncku.edu.tw
Muecke
Marjorie
M
D000328:Adult; D001294:Attitude to Health; D032903:Confucianism; D003376:Counseling / Q000379:methods; D003466:Cultural Characteristics; D003657:Decision Making; D005260:Female; D006679:HIV Seropositivity / Q000451:nursing / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D018445:Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical / Q000517:prevention & control*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations; D010290:Parents / Q000193:education / Q000523:psychology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011251:Pregnancy Complications, Infectious / Q000451:nursing / Q000523:psychology* / Q000821:virology; D037841:Pregnant People / Q000523:psychology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013624:Taiwan