Nokuthula Hung is 27 years old and lives in a small village on the border between South Africa and Swaziland. She lives with her husband Jabu Muhlanga and in September gave birth to her first son, Knowledge.
When Nokuthula learned she was pregnant, she was incredibly frightened as she had lost twins before. During an early antenatal check-up, she was encouraged to get tested for HIV.
The results came back positive. A Mentor Mother affiliated to the non-governmental organisation Mothers2Mothers, encouraged Nokuthula to take antiretroviral drugs and exclusively breastfeed for the first six months of her baby’s life.
This can significantly improve her baby’s chances of surviving while remaining free of HIV.
Nokuthula and her husband are still awaiting Knowledge’s HIV test results, but feel confident that she has made the right choices.
Nokuthula enjoys breastfeeding her baby, not only because of the bond she has formed with him while feeding, but also because it is an affordable and healthy way of nourishing him.
Breast milk gives infants all the nutrients they need for strong development.
It protects them from common childhood illnesses such as diarrhoea and pneumonia as well as benefitting the mothers.
Breastfeeding can reduce the risks of breast and ovarian cancer later in life, help mothers return to their pre-pregnancy weight faster, and lowers rates of obesity.
Nokuthula’s husband Jabu supports her choice to breastfeed. He has taken over the farming completely so that Nokhuthula has time to feed Knowledge and rest in the afternoon.
Nokuthula hopes that Knowledge will grow up to become a nurse or a teacher one day.
She says: “My hope is that he will one day tell his friends and other people that his mother is HIV-positive, but he is HIV-negative because she took treatment and protected him.”
This article forms part of a supplement paid for by Unicef. Contents and photographs were supplied and signed off by Unicef