In this prospective qualitative study, the women’s narratives of
the journey experienced in their pursuit of natural motherhood
revealed two types of meaning, similar to those previously distinguished
by Bury (1991) as the ‘consequences’ and ‘significance’ of a
chronic illness for the individual. The consequences referred to the
biomedical management of their HIV during pregnancy, the focus of
which was reducing the risk of HIV transmission to their baby, by
adhering to the medical interventions recommended by their
doctors. The significance, the focus of this present analysis, refers
to the symbolic significance of HIV and the profound influence it
had on their expectations and perceptions of care. Drawing on the
qualitative insights from their narratives, this paper focuses on the
women’s interactions with midwives involved in their care, and the
extent to which their maternity care could contribute to their
feelings of ‘normality’ or sharpen their experience of difference. In
doing so, the findings highlight the importance of midwives
developing the capacity to perceive and interpret the subjective
experiences of HIV positive women in their care in order to
understand how they can help to normalise the experience of
pregnancy as much as possible.