Do you tell your kids? What do you tell your kids? When do you tell your kids? How do you tell your kids? HIV-positive mothers, disclosure and stigma

HIV-positive mothers face the complex and challenging decision of whether to disclose their HIV status to their children. Not only do HIV-positive mothers worry about the potential emotional burden this disclosure may impose on their children, but there is also the risk of unwanted disclosure by children and the possibility of ensuing stigma. When thinking about the disclosure of one's HIV status to another, stigma is implicit. In-depth interviews were conducted in 2001 with 34 HIV-positive women in Australia who were diagnosed during their childbearing years, 28 of whom were mothers. In this chapter, I explore HIV-positive women's accounts of disclosure and how women construct both public and private accounts of living with HIV as a way of deriving meaning from their diagnosis as well as a way of managing disclosure and its potential ramifications. I also examine the role of stigma in the decisions made about disclosure to children as well as family, friends and broader social networks.