The Lived Experience of Pregnancy Among HIV-Positive Refugee Women: A Qualitative Study.

Increasingly HIV-positive refugee women are becoming pregnant. The objective of this qualitative study was to describe and explore the meaning and experience of pregnancy from the perspective of HIV-positive refugee women. The phenomenological analysis revealed 4 core themes. "Making up stories" for privacy and protection emerged as the first theme. The second theme illuminates 2 types of isolation: a double isolation based on refugee and HIV statuses, and isolation endured throughout the pregnancy. Being-in-Between describes the third theme. Finally, the fourth theme sheds light on the experience of disconnection: from baby, culture, body/self, and health care providers.