In the setting of health-care clinics in DR Congo with a high proportion of mothers initiating breastfeeding, implementation of basic training in BFHI steps 1-9 had no additional effect on initiation of breastfeeding but significantly increased exclusive breastfeeding at 6 months of age. Additional support based on the same training materials and locally available breastfeeding support materials, offered during well-child visits (ie, step 10) did not enhance this effect, and might have actually lessened it.

Background Novel strategies are needed to increase retention in and uptake of prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission (PMTCT) services in sub-Saharan Africa. Objective To determine whether small, increasing cash payments conditional on attending scheduled clinic visits and receiving proposed services can increase the proportions of HIV-infected pregnant women who accept available PMTCT services and remain in care through six weeks postpartum. Methods Newly diagnosed HIV-infected women, ≤32 weeks pregnant, were recruited at antenatal care clinics in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, and assigned in a 1:1 ratio to an intervention or control group using computer-based randomization. The intervention group received compensation on the condition that they attended scheduled clinic visits and accepted offered PMTCT services ($5, plus $1 increment at each subsequent visit), while the control group received usual care. Outcomes assessed included: 1) retention in care at six weeks postpartum, and 2) to uptake PMTCT services, measured by attendance of all scheduled clinic visits and acceptance of proposed services through six weeks postpartum. Analyses were intent-to-treat. Results Between April 2013 and August 2014, 612 potential participants were identified, 545 were screened, and 433 were enrolled and randomized. At six weeks post-partum, the proportion of participants retained in care was higher in the intervention group than the control group (174/216, 80·6% vs. 157/217, 72·4%; risk ratio (RR), 1·11; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1·00–1·24). The proportion of participants who attended all clinic visits and accepted proposed services was higher in the intervention group than the control group (146/216, 67·6% vs. 116/217, 53·5%; RR, 1·26; 95% CI, 1·08–1·48). Results were similar after adjusting for marital status, age, and education. Conclusions Among newly diagnosed HIV-infected women, small, incremental cash incentives resulted in increased retention along the PMTCT cascade and uptake of available services. The cost-effectiveness of these incentives and their effect on HIV-free survival warrant further investigation.

BackgroundAlthough breastfeeding is almost universally accepted in the Democratic Republic (DR) of Congo, by the age of 2 to 3 months 65% of children are receiving something other than human milk. We sought to describe the infant feeding practices and determinants of suboptimal breastfeeding behaviors in DR Congo.MethodsSurvey questionnaire administered to mothers of infants aged ≤ 6 months and healthcare providers who were recruited consecutively at six selected primary health care facilities in Kinshasa, the capital.ResultsAll 66 mothers interviewed were breastfeeding. Before initiating breastfeeding, 23 gave their infants something other than their milk, including: sugar water (16) or water (2). During the twenty-four hours prior to interview, 26 (39%) infants were exclusively breastfed (EBF), whereas 18 (27%), 12 (18%), and 10 (15%) received water, tea, formula, or porridge, respectively, in addition to human milk. The main reasons for water supplementation included “heat” and cultural beliefs that water is needed for proper digestion of human milk. The main reason for formula supplementation was the impression that the baby was not getting enough milk; and for porridge supplementation, the belief that the child was old enough to start complementary food. Virtually all mothers reported that breastfeeding was discussed during antenatal clinic visit and half reported receiving help regarding breastfeeding from a health provider either after birth or during well-child clinic visit. Despite a median of at least 14 years of experience in these facilities, healthcare workers surveyed had little to no formal training on how to support breastfeeding and inadequate breastfeeding-related knowledge and skills. The facilities lacked any written policy about breastfeeding.ConclusionAddressing cultural beliefs, training healthcare providers adequately on breastfeeding support skills, and providing structured breastfeeding support after maternity discharge is needed to promote EBF in the DR Congo.

IntroductionWe assessed the fertility desires, utilization of family planning (FP) methods, and incidence of pregnancies among HIV-infected women receiving care in an HIV clinic with an onsite FP services in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo.MethodsBetween November 2011 and May 2012, all HIV-infected women who attended a routine visit at the clinic were interviewed about their fertility desires and utilization of contraceptive methods using a structured questionnaire. Routine follow-up visit data were used to identify pregnancies recorded between the interview and June 2013.ResultsOverall, of the 699 HIV-infected women interviewed. 249 (35.7%) reported not wanting another child. Of the 499 (72.2%) participants who were sexually active at the time of interview, 177 (35.5%) were using an effective contraceptive method, including 70 (14.0%) women who reported using condoms consistently and 104 (20.8%) who were using injectable contraception. Overall, 88 (17.6%) sexually active participants who did not want another child were not using an effective FP method, and thus are considered to have had unmet need. During the median follow-up time of 22.2 (IQR: 20.2, 23.6) months, among all women interviewed, 96 (14.1%) became newly pregnant [pregnancy rate 9.3 (95%CI: 7.6, 11.4) per 100 women-years] including 21 (8.7%) among women who initially reported not wanting another child [unwanted pregnancy rate 5.8 (95%CI: 3.6, 9.3) per 100 women-years].ConclusionThe persistence of relatively high unmet need among women receiving HIV care in a clinic with onsite FP services suggests the existence of barriers that must be identified and addressed.

We evaluated the feasibility of a Positive Prevention intervention adapted for youth living with HIV/AIDS (YLWH) ages 15–24 in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. We conducted in-depth interviews and focus group discussions with intervention facilitators and YLWH participants on the following four areas of a feasibility framework: acceptability, implementation, adaptation, and limited-efficacy. The adapted intervention was suitable, satisfying, and attractive to program facilitators and participants and able to be implemented effectively. It performed well with a new population and showed preliminary efficacy. However, we identified certain aspects of the intervention that must be addressed prior to wider implementation such as: (1) including more content on navigating marriage while living with HIV and disclosure; (2) adjusting intervention timing and session length; and (3) simplifying the more complicated content. An adapted evidence-based intervention was found to be feasible and lessons learned can be applied to YLWH in other low-resource settings.