ABSTRACT
HIV probably began to affect the Malawian population in 1977 and people with its effects became in need of health services in the 1980s. Public health guidelines, such as those of the World Health Organization (WHO) on infant feeding and HIV aim for best “overall result.” The core recommendation of the 2006 guidelines states that: The most appropriate infant feeding option for an HIV-infected mother depends on her individual circumstances, including her health status and the local situation. The WHO guidelines raise many significant ethical challenges. Preventing mother-to-child transmission while also protecting infants from the other causes of death in the absence of breastfeeding were described as “the most pressing public health dilemmas” facing policy-makers, professional, researchers, and HIV-infected women, especially in developing countries. The utilitarian 2009 WHO guidelines of recommending national policies of “breastfeeding and antiretroviral Therapy” offer probably the best possible overall public health message.
