Objective:

To assess whether the social support perceived by pregnant women with HIV is different from that observed by puerperal women also with HIV.

Method:

The study had a quantitative approach and a cross-sectional design. It was developed from April to November 2014 in southern Brazil with 78 participants. The Social Support Scale for people living with HIV/AIDS was applied. In addition, descriptive analysis, T-test, Fisher's exact test, and linear logistic regression were performed.

Results:

There was a significant difference in total and instrumental social support scores, which show that the group of pregnant women report higher social support rates. Puerperal women are 8.8 times more likely to have low total social support (OR: 8.80; IC: 1.01-16.76) and 6.0 times more likely to have low instrumental social support (OR: 6.00; IC: 1.53-10.48). The level of satisfaction with the support from friends in the emotional (p = 0.009) and instrumental (p = 0.004) dimensions was low. It was evidenced that being pregnant is a protective factor in comparison with being a puerperal woman.

Conclusions:

Puerperal women living with HIV are dissatisfied with the social support they perceive, which involves the clinical practice of health professionals. Therefore, health professionals must qualify health care in a way that includes the social dimension of this type of patients.

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