Two nurses behind Rietvlei’s PMTCT success
Yet over 80% of pregnant women attending ante-natal check-ups at Rietvlei Hospital have agreed to take an HIV test when told they would get nevirapine to save their babies, should they prove positive.
This take-up rate is one of the highest in the country, and testimony to the dedication of Sisters Leah Siyothula and Elizabeth Pupuma who are running the programme under pressure with few resources.
Siyothula heads the maternity ward and Pupuma heads outpatients. Despite their already heavy loads, the sisters agreed to take on the PMTCT programme.
“We have long been fighting to have something for this HIV, and I am happy we now have something,” says the softly spoken Siyothula. “It also gives us the chance to be free to talk about HIV/AIDS with our patients and get them to take the test. And they agree because they can see that they get something.”
Siyothula concedes that, at times, it takes her an entire day to counsel women before she tests them for HIV, “but I don’t want any patient to say she doesn’t know about nevirapine”.
Post-test counselling ‘ particularly if the patient tests HIV positive ‘ can take up to 30 minutes per patient. “The mothers often ask: ‘what about me? Are you going to give me something to stop the HIV’, and I have to explain that the Nevirapine is only for the baby.”
For Pupuma although the process “takes a long time and is taxing and stressful”, it is worthwhile to take part as “we are saving babies’ lives”.
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