ABSTRACT
HIV infection in women raises specific issues that have long been recognized as critical in the societal response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. In the developing world, approximately half of all HIV infections are seen among women. In the United States, women account for approximately 25% of reported cases (1). Because heterosexual contact is the most frequent route of transmission of HIV infection to women in the United States (1) and in the developing world, infection may go unsuspected and unrecognized more often among women since they are less likely than men who have sex with men or injection drug users to recognize that they are at risk. The possibility of transmission of HIV from mother to unborn child adds another dimension to the epidemic in women, and this route of transmission accounts for the vast majority of pediatric HIV/AIDS cases. Child care and other family responsibilities shouldered disproportionately by women often stand in the way of their medical care. In this chapter, the impacts of these various factors on women are discussed.
