Fertility desire and associated factors among women of reproductive age living with HIV/AIDS attending antiretroviral therapy clinic in Arba Minch General Hospital, South Ethiopia, 2021

BACKGROUND: The fertility desire of women living with HIV to have children can have significant implications for public health. Despite the increase in the number of HIV-positive women, the issues of their fertility desire have not been well-studied. This study aims to assess fertility desire and associated factors among women living with HIV/AIDS. METHODS: A facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted from 1 May to 30 July 2021. The researchers employed a systematic sampling technique. The data were gathered and entered into EpiData 3.1 software, and subsequently exported to the statistical package for social science version 25 for analysis. Binary logistic regression analyses were used to identify the factors involved, and a p-value of <0.05 at a 95% confidence level was deemed to be statistically significant. RESULT: The findings of this study indicate that 47.8% of women expressed a desire to conceive. Various factors such as parents’ pressure [adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 4.41, 95% confidence interval (CI): 2.15–9.05], community pressure (AOR = 2.62, 95% CI: 1.30–5.26), being married (AOR = 0.25, 95% CI: 0.09–0.73), having only female offspring (AOR = 2.57, 95% CI: 1.12–5.90), and having HIV seropositive children (AOR = 2.45, 95% CI: 1.23–4.85) had statistically significant association with fertility desire. CONCLUSION: The study area exhibited a high level of fertility desire. Various factors can influence fertility desire, including parents’ pressure, community pressure, being married, having only female offspring, and having children who are HIV seropositive. When developing interventions on sexual and reproductive health issues, it is imperative for policymakers and healthcare providers who are working in antiretroviral therapy clinics to take into account the effects of these factors on women living with HIV. When designing and implementing prevention of mother-to-child transmission services, it is important to consider the fertility desires of mothers who are living with HIV.