Abstract:
Globally, Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is the leading cause of death
in women of reproductive age and responsible for a quarter of deaths during pregnancy in sub-
Saharan Africa including Ethiopia. Studies revealed that there are various determinants of
pregnancy among HIV infected women after ART initiation. Even though studies had identified
these determinants of pregnancy, they are so variable that has been positively associated with
partner HIV testing, increased care seeking, improved communication, and higher motivation to
make plans for the future.
Objective: To determine the effect of baseline predictors on incidence rate of pregnancy among
reproductive age women on antiretroviral therapy at public hospitals of Jigjiga and Harar town,
Eastern Ethiopia from February 15 to march 15, 2020.
Methods: Retrospective cohort study was conducted on 420 HIV-infected women using data
recorded from September11, 2014, to September 10, 2019 in Jigjiga and Harar town in Eastern
Ethiopia. Simple random sampling was used to select study subjects from each hospital. Data
were entered to Epi data version 3.2 and exported to Stata version 14.2 for analysis. Kaplan-
Meier failure was used to estimate the probability of pregnancy after ART initiation. Cox
proportional hazards model was used to identify predictors of pregnancy and Variables which
were significant (P-value <0.05) in the multivariate analysis were considered independent
predictors of pregnancy.
Results: The overall incidence rate of pregnancy was 9.1 per 100 person-years (95% CI: 7.19,
11.76). Being unadvanced HIV disease stage (AHR: 2.50; 95% CI: 1.46, 4.19), having less than
two children (AHR: 2.93; 95% CI: 1.59, 5.40), and disclosed HIV status (AHR: 2.25; 95% CI:
1.34, 3.79) were independent predictors of pregnancy.
Conclusion: The incidence rate of pregnancy among reproductive age women on ART was
found to be considerable. Being unadvanced HIV disease stage, having less than two children,
and disclosed HIV status were independent predictors of pregnancy. Thus, tailoring counseling
have to be designed to enhance better pregnancy planning and consecutive health outcomes
