Mentor Mothers

Empowering Women, Journey to Zero

Introduction
• Mentor Mothers are a strong component of peer educators in HIV
care.
• The most powerful tools a Mentor Mother has is her own story and
what she has learned along the way.
• Along life’s journey there are both positive and negative experiences.
While it is important to acknowledge that the negative
experiences in our lives exist and we can use them to grow,
we should not focus too much on the negative, as we are likely to get
discouraged and not be able to move forward.
Gaps to PMTCT Uptake
Job description for Mentor Mother

Primary Purpose:
• To provide peer education and
psychosocial support to pregnant
women, mothers and their families, to
prevent HIV transmission to babies,
promote maternal and infant health
and empower women to live positively
with HIV.
• A Mentor Mother provides these
services by drawing on their personal
experience as an HIV positive woman;
with guidance from her supervisors and
the health care team.
Requirements

• HIV-positive mother
• Recent PMTCT experience (6 months - 2 years)
• Minimum of standard 8 education
• Has disclosed HIV status to at least one person within the household
• Lives within the local community
Key Areas of Responsibility
• Conduct group health talks in facility waiting areas
related to PMTCT and MNCH
• Facilitate group pre-test HIV education for
pregnant women
• Provide one-on-one peer education and
psychosocial support to PMTCT clients and couples
• Co-facilitate support groups for PMTCT clients and
couples
• Conduct defaulter tracing of priority PMTCT clients
• Refer PMTCT, MCH and CCC/PSC clients for other
services within the health facility and to
community-based services
• Encourage partner involvement in MCH services,
education and psychosocial support
Key Outcomes

• Client behaviour change through the provision of education,

psychosocial support and positive role modelling
• Reduced loss to follow-up and improved client retention and
adherence
• Peer education and psychosocial support integrated as a core
component of PMTCT and MNCH service delivery
• Reduced stigma and discrimination and improved client disclosure
• Improved participation of male partners
Collaboration with Community Health Workers
• Linkage to Community Health Workers at the community level, the Mentor mothers ensure a continuum of care for each
client.
• Having Mentor Mothers in the facility and Community Health Workers in the community working together strengthens the
PMTCT program in several important ways:
 Increases awareness about available PMTCT services, including HIV testing for the woman, her partner and family
 Encourages early antenatal care, four antenatal visits, birth planning, and delivery in a health facility
 Helps women to safely disclose their HIV status so that they can receive support from their partners, family members, and
friends
 Educates women pre- and post-delivery about key PMTCT components, including testing for HIV and adhering to ARV drug
protocols
 Encourages women’s uptake of ARV therapy services early in pregnancy and promoting referrals when needed
 Helps retain mother-baby pairs in PMTCT care services during pregnancy, labour and delivery, and post-delivery
 Informs women about feeding options, and assisting them in selecting and adhering to the best exclusive feeding option
for them in their context
 Encourages infant follow-up for immunizations and routine care
 Encourages positive living as an individual, couple, and family
 Encourages awareness and uptake of family planning services
 Summary
• Mentor Mothers roles are mainly concerned
with providing education and support to
pregnant women and new mothers together
with their spouses.
• The key role of a Mentor Mother is to conduct:
 Group education sessions for pregnant women
in the antenatal clinic
 Pre-test education and support for groups,
couples and individuals
 Individual and couple support following new
diagnosis
 Structured support groups for HIV-positive
women during pregnancy and delivery
 Individualised support and education for HIV-
positive women and couples during pregnancy
and during delivery
 Conclusion
• Remember that as a Mentor Mother,
the success of your work depends on
your ability to share your life’s
journey/story with your clients.

• Your clients will be interested in

knowing how you were able to handle
various challenges in your life, since the
client will be going through some similar
struggles in their own lives.