Called ‘Selfish’ For Breastfeeding With HIV | MY EXTRAORDINARY FAMILY

CI CI is living with HIV. First diagnosed when she was 20 years old, Ci Ci has been on medication which means her levels are now undetectable. She said: “It is my lifeline… It’s what has kept me healthy for these last 15 years.” An advocate of others living with HIV, Ci Ci has two children - who are both HIV negative - 12-year-old Zion and two-year-old Zuri. The mother-of-two said: “When I got pregnant with Zuri, this time we are talking about breastfeeding - something I never thought would be possible.” She further explained that in available studies, the risk of transmission through breastfeeding was around 1% and she had support from some doctors. Ci Ci initially shared her story to find community with other women living with HIV and decided to start a blog: ‘Healing Is Voluntary’. She said: “As a woman who is living with HIV and who is extremely open with my status and extremely proud and open with the fact I have kids, I have received a lot of negative feedback from the people online.” She has been called ‘selfish’ for having children and breastfeeding one. But she has also received a lot of positivity and continues to work hard to spread awareness, educate and learn more herself. Ci Ci said: “One thing that I would like to tell the world is that for people living with HIV, it is just a part of our identity.”

Follow Ci Ci here:
https://www.instagram.com/ci.ciiiiii/
https://www.tiktok.com/@ci.ciiiiii
https://www.healingisvoluntary.com/
https://www.thewellproject.org/