WELCOME everyone :)

Please make sure you share and record your questions in the Q&A

Welcome everyone!!

https://4mmm.org/

Please check out 4M Network! ^^

hello everyone I am Tendayi Westerhof from the Pan African Positive Women's Coalition-Zimbabwe thank you

Welcome, Tendayi! Thank you for being here today with us!

Hi Demetra! Thanks for being here!

That's amazing Fungai! So incredibly needed in the pregnancy/motherhood journey.

Truly inspiring…

Inspiring Fungai! Thank you!

Inspiring Testimony

Fungai, first of all, your accent is beautiful! I wish I didn't sound so...bland! Thank you so much for being a revolutionary in this incredibly important fight!!

Will these slides be available Shema?

Please remember to record your questions in the Q&A so you don’t forget them … we will do our best to make sure questions are answered!

Safer triangle seems like a really useful tool!

Thank you so much, Shema!

I will make my slides available

I will pop the link to safer triangle here in the chat

Dr. Tariq, thank you so much for your contribution!! We are very thankful for your efforts and participation.

thank you yes we need the slides

https://www.bhiva.org/file/5bfd3080d2027/BF-Leaflet-1.pdf

Hello everybody, Shema, Angelina and a few of us are conducting a study called Nourish-UK, based at University of Oxford. We are really interested in hearing from women and birthing parents who are either pregnant or have a baby under a year old about their decisions regarding infant feeding. Please do have a look at our study website and get in touch if you'd like to take part: www.phc.ox.ac.uk/nourishUK

Again link to Nourish studies:

https://www.phc.ox.ac.uk/research/health-experiences/Nourish_UK

AGREED

thanks Heather!

Thank you, Tanvi!

Thank you so much Dr. Faulhaber!!!

This has been so awesome today !! A wealth of information awesomeness

Dr. Faulhaber, thank you so much for your contribution and forward thinking! We appreciate all of your support and efforts!

Dr. Faulhaber, please feel free to elaborate here in the comments if you'd like, or you can address it out loud if you'd prefer. :)

Poor Martha - all so traumatic

shocking treatment !!

Martha, thank you so much for sharing. Awful and ridiculous for you to have these experiences rooted in ignorance

Martha, thank you so much for sharing this heartbreaking account, and all of your work to make sure this never happens to other birthing parents living with HIV!

I am so sorry that was your experience Martha. No one should EVER have to experience that.

Gm to u all my name is Antolette sorry to be late I got caught up with the time, thank you for having me in this program nuff love

Martha thank you for such generous sharing. I am so sorry you were treated like this by someone who should have been caring for you. This would have been against all guidance.

so far in Indonesia women living with HiV with Undetectable VL and on treatment can give birth per-vaginum, and breast feed with procedure:Profilaksis upon delivery, EID (PCR) on 6 weeks....if not detected then stop the profilaksis.final conclusion is on antibody test on 18th monthsbreast feed can only allowed for 6 months without mixed feeding.so far no case of transmission (as I've heard from community) happened

Sadly this kind of treatment STILL goes on despite the huge advances in treatment. Indeed NO woman should ever have to go through that

I also delivered by cesarean section, enticed into tubligation and was told not to breastfeed. my daughter was born negative and is now 19 years.But that time in 2003 was a very traumatic experience for me.I was told forced sterilisation was best for me because I was HIV + and that I should not have children.However that situation has changed with the evolution of EMTC ,HIV+positive mothers are now encouraged to breastfeed their babies unless there are serious medical condition e.g if the viral load is high and CD4 low.

All the questions in the chat are so important so if possible I think we should address live rather than by typing

congrats Cici !!

Angelina, thank you so much for sharing your story and being able to share your account so charmingly and with humor. I'm sure it was very challenging. Thank you so much for everything you do!

Congratulations!!

My sentiments too

Absolutely, Shema!

https://www.thewellproject.org/a-girl-like-me/aglm-blogs/liquid-gold

A link to Cici's blog^^

https://www.thewellproject.org/

Also a link to our lovely partners website. Happy to partner with The Well Project! <33 ^^^

Cici, you bring up such an incredible point as it relates to the financial strains put on new parents. That is one intersection of marginalization that we can easily eliminate as we move forward!Thank you so much for sharing your story, and congratulations on your pregnancy and we wish you all the best in your breastfeeding journey!!

Thank you CiCi and Heather for openly sharing what it means to breastfeed as a parent living with HIV - it goes such a long way to challenge stigma

Well done Cici …always inspiring to hear your journey

Cici your story spoke life for me

Such vital points and stories and evidence you both share - thank you so much always and forever, Ci Ci and Heather! <3

is prophylaxis given to babies in the UK?

We don't give prophylaxis to babies beyond 2-4 weeks post-partum. Not much evidence to support routine infant prophylaxis for breastfeeding - maternal ART should be enough

^^^BHIVA guidance

maternal art is enough to protect the babies?

@Martha your story of your experience is so deeply harrowing and such a violation of your rights. Thank you so much for sharing it with us here. Sadly globally there is a real lack of recognition of our SRHR as women throughout our lives and especially during our child birthing experiences https://www.whiteribbonalliance.org/respectful-maternity-care-charter/

Yes - no evidence of additional benefit with infant prophylaxis

Appreciate you doing that Heather because you can be that voice hear for all women who want to make that choice.

thank you @sheemacan you share the BHIVA literacy please? i would love to share to our community since babies are given prophylaxis upon delivery

Thank you Alice … and I wish I had a mentor mother at that time:) no woman should have to go through that. I can’t wait for us to have Mentor Mothers available to women across the USA!

If a woman chooses not to breastfeed for whatever reason there is medication you can take to stop milk production so it's not painful

The mothers antibodies are being transferred to babies

Heather, thank you so so much for being willing to openly share as a mother living with HIV and post-partum mental health needs, and who is actively breastfeeding! We are so honored to be in the trenches with you to make giving our babies the best a standard and not an exception!Thank you for pointing out an often ignored truth, which is that breastmilk isn't just food...IT IS MEDICINE!

The key thing for me is supporting the mothers with their choices and avoiding guilt-led kind of support from care givers. I have two children and I breastfed one and formula fed the other and they are both healthy and happy children

Wonderful sharings all of you THANK YOU @Martha @Angelina @Cici @Heather

The pill to suppress my milk didn't work twice which was frustrating for me.

literally nobody helped me with that. I was on my own

@Gillian absolutely! Ensuring our SRHR throughout the perinatal journey, specifically our rights to informed choice and SUPPORT for whatever we decide every step along the way…

I heard the medication increases the risk of post partum depression? It wasn’t recommended to me because of that.

Thank you Gillian - great point. Women living with HIV already live with enough guilt as it is

I am currently pregnant and this time will be asking and getting the support to breastfeed my baby 🥰

^^^CONGRATULATIONS! Right on! <3

That's amazing LeaSuwanna, congratulations!!! Please do join our support group, bit/ly/TheMilkyMoovement

oops... bit.ly/TheMilkyMoovement

Congratulations Leasuwanna

CONGRATULATIONS @Leasuwanna

LeaSuwanna, congratulations on your pregnancy!! May I ask where you are located. If you'e in the US, we'd be happy to help you make mooves!! :D

I am currently in the UK with the lovely 4M ladies and will make moves here to be heard 😎

I know that's right LeaSuwanna! Congrats!

An open conversation is helpful for all women

Thank you. 😊

community representation is so important

LeaSuwanna - huge congratulations :-)

Thanks @Alice. Absolutely! Either choice is not an easy journey (talking from my experience) hence SUPPORT! is paramount.

Wonderful news @Lea congratulations!!

A doctor’s support is GOLD… Dr. Jason is Super Hero and Dr. Shema is a Super Shero :)

😊

Heather, that is such an important point! You were able to make a choice because you were presented with ALL the information and data to afford you the ability to make an INFORMED decision. That should be the standard! That is the call-to-action!

Will link to the consensus statement!

Standby

Expert consensus statement Ci Ci referenced: https://www.thewellproject.org/hiv-information/expert-consensus-statement-breastfeeding-and-hiv-united-states-and-canada

@Heather I gotchu! ;-) <3

https://icwnorthamerica.org/expertconsensus/

Thanks boo! <333

@Bex absolutely. The guilt that mounts on a mother as a positive mother is a lot as it is. It impacts hugely on the mental health of hiv positive mothers

Thank you for this webinar

Co-authored by a range of experts by a group co-convened by ICW-NA and The Well Project!

Prophylaxis is still needed for newborn babieshttps://clinicalinfo.hiv.gov/en/guidelines/perinatal/antiretroviral-management-newborns-perinatal-hiv-exposure-or-hiv-infection🧐🧐

Cici’s point is VERY important about the difference in experience between white women and women of color/immigrants.

well done Cici for choosing to take care of yourself and your son

Most definitely Martha

linktr.ee/TheMilkyMoovement

Yes Martha, experiences are always so much different between white women and women of color/immigrants

with the evolution of emct HIV positive lactacting mothers make informed choices to exclusively breastfeed for 6 months

Such profound and inspiring stories and ponints . Welldone and THANK YOU to all of you incredible women and our equally incredible and supportive clinicians

We need to demand for the research and data to be done in the West

agreed

Asolutlely@Martha

Martha Absolutely

Women need that support

Mentor mothrs as part of the clinic multidisciplinary team is crucial to this support

YES SHEMA

Absolutely

Excellent question! We will be discussing breast/chestfeeding in the context of HIV criminalization/state intervention on August 24 - come hear Ci Ci and Heather speak up and out yet again! TWP. ICW-NA, Center for HIV Law and Policy, Sero Project

Getting link!

Register here for webinar discussion on breast/chestfeeding and HIV criminalization here: https://bit.ly/BABYUU

I was threatened that it would be a child protection issue in the UK by my midwife, but I didn't breast feed this baby so don't know how far it could have gone. also know of another case where this was an issue

Thank so much to everyone for such great information

Thank you all for sharing, very informative :)

Thank you everyone; for sharing your amazing experiences quite informative

Let's keep this conversation going and active in many corners! To be added to the growing HIV and Infant Feeding listserv, email oford@thewellproject.org (that's me, Olivia!) - worldwide members welcome <3

or menstruation?

Wow. Thank you so much. I really needed all of this information!

How can I get more involved?

I joined the support chat, but would like more info

Would love to connect with any ladies here to talk more about U=U Dee Conner preventionaccess.org

Thank you so much, so much support from physicians world wide. Powerful testimonials much love Queens- from ICWNA-co-chair Kneeshe

https://twitter.com/nourishukstudy

linktr.ee/TheMilkyMoovement

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/integrated-screening-outcomes-surveillance-service-isoss-annual-report/integrated-screening-outcomes-surveillance-service-isoss-annual-report-2021#hiv-and-breastfeeding

This is a link to a recent report from the UK programme which collects data on HIV in pregnancy

Just want to share some other docs: a) https://www.who.int/reproductivehealth/publications/gender_rights/srhr-women-hiv/en/ ; and also b) two fab @4M documents: https://4mmm.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/4M_Breastfeeding_PaperAugust2020.pdf and https://4mmm.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/4M_July2020_Advocacy_Brief_3page_summary_final.pdf for more information about ENSURING OUR SRHR *globally*. Thank you SO MUCH to the whole team @ICWNAmerica @WellProject @4M for hosting this awesome webinar #whatwomenwant #oursrhr and to @DrShema and @DrJason for all your great contributions too! AND all the fab questions and sharings!!! THIS is where change happens!!

4MNet link to article about SRHR and the right to make informed choice being a global issue. https://4mmm.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/4M_July2020_Advocacy_Brief_3page_summary_final.pdf

They are now looking at HIV and breastfeeding and report new data (as of last month): https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/integrated-screening-outcomes-surveillance-service-isoss-annual-report/integrated-screening-outcomes-surveillance-service-isoss-annual-report-2021#hiv-and-breastfeeding

Thank you to the IWCNA Board for all of your support! I might be biased, but you ladies are the best!! <3

BIPOC have VERY DIFFERENT experiences with both medical and legal issues ~Queen Melanie,ICWNA Board member

Thank you Martha

4M Net report on Breast/Infant feeding :https://4mmm.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/4M_Breastfeeding_PaperAugust2020.pdf

Information regarding The Millky Moovement+:

https://icwnorthamerica.org/about-the-milky-moovement/

Please, please check us out.

Clearinghouse of info about HIV and breast/chestfeeding (including a resource list with many of the resources shared here!): https://www.thewellproject.org/hiv-information/breastfeeding-chestfeeding-and-hiv-supporting-informed-choices

Will the links in the chat be available later?

Milky Moovement is so powerful and just what we've needed! I'm gonna share the link again 'cause can't share enough https://www.thewellproject.org/hiv-information/breastfeeding-chestfeeding-and-hiv-supporting-informed-choices

Oy shared wrong one :-P https://icwnorthamerica.org/about-the-milky-moovement/

lol love you Olivia, thank you my love!

and the 4M website :) https://4mmm.org/

We are planning to make them available Tanvi. If not forthcoming immediately - please reach out and I am sure they can be provided

https://icwnorthamerica.org/formal-call-to-action/

if I have had this information nine years back I could have Brest feed my two children in other for us to get the mother & child bond. once again thank you for having me on board.

^^^ PLEASE SIGN ON TO CALL TO ACTION

Thanks Rebecca

Yes a choice and so sorry you had to go through that Martha

Please sign on to the call of Action

https://icwnorthamerica.org/formal-call-to-action/

Very informative information here thank you soooo much everyone!!

Thank you all for your attendance

a collaboration of 4m and the well project and ICWNA amazing !!! makes me soo happy all great forces for the rights and empowerment of women living with HIV xxx

Thank you everyone :)

Thank you everyone!

Thank you all👏🙏🏼❤️‼️

Awesome, powerful conversation! Huge gratitude to ICW-NA, 4M, and all you brilliant panelists! This movement is on its way <3 <3 <3

What amazing conversation. Thank you!

Thank you for a great seminar! Greetings from Sweden

thank you, was brilliant and powerful

Thank you. Its very good.

Thanks so much everyone - fab meeting

Thank you all! Very important and needed conversation

I really enjoyed this. Thank you!

Thank you Ane

thank you our panelists