Personal story: Amaka

Do not be scared – HIV is not a death sentence

Photo credit: ©iStock/FG Trade. Photos are used for illustrative purposes. They do not imply health status or behaviour.

University student smiling at camera — Photo credit: ©iStock/FG Trade. Photos are used for illustrative purposes. They do not imply health status or behaviour.

"I am Amaka from Uganda. I was in a relationship with my boyfriend of three years, and I found out that he was cheating on me the whole time and had fathered three kids outside of our relationship. In 2013, I got pregnant with his baby and that is when I discovered I had contracted HIV. I kept my pregnancy, and I followed my doctor’s advice and gave birth to an HIV- negative baby boy in 2014.

I am happy for the choices that I made, and I thank God for giving me a healthy and a wonderful baby. I am practicing safe sex with my current boyfriend and all I can say is that do not be scared – HIV is not a death sentence. You can live a longer healthy life if you adhere to your medication – I have never fallen sick since then."

What we say

For Amaka, discovering she had HIV while being pregnant was a surprising experience. While pregnant, she took her treatment as advised by her healthcare professional and both her and her child are healthy. Read our page on prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) to learn more about how to have healthy and safe pregnancies if you are living with HIV.

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These personal stories have been submitted to us anonymously by individuals who use our site. Some of the stories have been edited for clarity purposes and names have been changed to protect identities.