Knowledge on Mother to Child Transmission of HIV among Pregnant Women Attending Antenatal Clinic within the Buea Health District, Cameroon

ABSTRACT: Despite advances made in treating HIV, the number of children infected with HIV has increased due to the increased number of HIV positive women. This study sought to investigate participants’ awareness and knowledge on mother to child transmission (MTCT) of HIV and its prevention. A cross-sectional study was conducted. Seventy-four pregnant women attending antenatal clinics within the Buea Health District, Cameroon participated in the study. A heterogeneous purposive sampling technique was used to select health facilities within the health district, while the consecutive convenient sampling method was used to enrol eligible participants. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data. Data was entered into Epi Data Version 3.1 and was analysed using SPSS version 21.0.The results revealed that 98% of the respondents demonstrated a high level of awareness on HIV/AIDS, 98% knew that HIV/AIDS could coexist with pregnancy, 2.7% of respondents did not know that MTCT of HIV is possible. The main factor associated with MTCT of HIV was breast feeding (64.9%), while adherence to antiretroviral therapy (70.3%) was reported as the main means to prevent MTCT of HIV