Fertility Intentions of HIV Patients who Referred to Behavioral Clinics of Universities of Medical Sciences in Tehran

Reproductive needs and preferences of HIV positive individuals are changing due to the development of antiretroviral therapy (ART) for HIV infection. As a result of improvements of symptoms and changes in quality of life, people who live with HIV infection (PLWHIV) regain their normal activities and new challenges and new opportunities are arising. Many PLWHIV continue to be sexually active and some have strong desires for biological children which entails unprotected sexual intercourse. The objective of this study was to determine fertility intentions and factors influencing them among the population living with HIV infection who referred to the behavioral clinics of universities of medical science in Tehran, Iran. A cross-sectional interview-based survey on 400 people living with HIV with consequential sampling was carried out. The majority of participants (60%) were male. Most men (44.2%) and women (51.3%) were in the age group of 34-25 years. In addition, 34% of female and 44.2% of male HIV positive patients desired to have children. Bivariant analysis revealed factors related with desire to have children as being male, being married, not having a living child, and having an HIV positive child (P < 0.05). Based on logistic regression model, factors strongly associated with the desire to have children included young age, being married, having an HIV positive child, and having a living child (P < 0.05). Our results highlighted the importance of developing reproductive health service policies and interventions for women and men living with HIV. Service providers need adequate counseling training to manage issues related with reproductive health services (RHS). A better integration of HIV care programs into RHS settings is needed to improve effective service provision.