ABSTRACT
Many people still view the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) crisis as primarily affecting males who are homosexual and/or involved in intravenous drag use. Although it is true that the epidemic of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has for the most part affected young men, HIV infection is increasingly becoming a major health threat in women. Cases of AIDS among women in the United States accounted for 10% of all cases reported to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) as of the end of 1991—more than 20,000 women have been diagnosed with AIDS (CDC, 1991). Further, HIV infection in women of reproductive age is directly linked to AIDS in children. (Oxtoby, 1990). AIDS is now among the 10 leading causes of death in women of reproductive age (Chu, Buehler, & Berkelman, 1990), and women with AIDS or HIV infection are the major source of infection of infants with AIDS.
