The issue of breastfeeding is a crucial one for pregnant women living with HIV. In many developing nations they have a tough choice: either breastfeed their babies and risk transmitting the virus through their milk, or give them formula. The latter deprives infants of the natural immunity passed on through breast milk which helps protect against diarrhoea, malnutrition and other potentially deadly diseases. Sanitation can also be an issue, with a scarcity of clean water with which to mix the formula and, in any case, many may not be able to afford to buy it in the first place. Preventing mothers from dying and babies becoming infected with HIV is one of the nine priority focus areas for UNAIDS and its Cosponsors under the Joint action for results: UNAIDS outcome framework 2009-2011.

The WRHR Program was initiated by the NICHD in 1998, through the Reproductive Sciences Branch in response to concerns about the need for greater numbers of obstetrician-gynecologist physician scientists performing research on women's health. The NIH Office of Research on Women’s Health and the National Cancer Institute collaborated with NICHD to support this program. Dr. Estella Parrott is the Program Officer. This ongoing initiative addresses a continued need for bridging clinical training with an independent career in research addressing women's health concerns. Program sites provide departments of obstetrics and genecology an opportunity to build a talented pool of junior investigators in women's health research.

The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) seeks to ensure that every individual is born healthy, is born wanted, and has the opportunity to fulfil his or her potential for a productive life unhampered by disease or disability. The Institute further strives to help parents have the children they want, at the times they want them, and to ensure that every mother experiences a pregnancy free of adverse complications. Key to the success of this mission is answering the fundamental questions of how a single fertilized cell eventually develops into a fully functional adult human being and how a multitude of genetic and environmental factors influence that process for good or ill. Programs at the NICHD are based on the concepts that adult health and well-being are determined in large part by episodes early in life, sometimes before birth; that human development is continuous throughout life; and that optimal outcomes of development are important not only to the individual but to society. NICHD research is also directed toward restoring or maximizing individual potential and functional capacity when disease, injury, or a chronic disorder intervenes in the developmental process. Thus, the NICHD mission truly spans the life cycle, and much of the health and well-being of our population depends on the success of the Institute’s research.

The ability to control one’s own reproduction encompasses the desire not only to have children but also to have them at a time and in a manner that best ensures their future health, both physical and mental. Reproductive health significantly influences the overall health of individuals and society and has been the subject of increased attention from a health and economic viewpoint. The economic burden imposed on infertile couples attempting to achieve pregnancy is difficult to estimate accurately because the cost of treatment is not always reported as infertility related.

A number of conditions have an impact on fertility and quality of life for women as they progress through the reproductive years and the postmenopausal period. These conditions, which can span the reproductive health life of women and include postmenopausal women on hormone therapy, can result in considerable morbidity, lowered fertility, and substantial economic burden. Treatments, however, are frequently empirical and not based on solid scientific evidence.