According to the Taiwan Lourdes Association, female HIV patients in Taiwan experience greater stigmatization and discrimination than male HIV patients in the country, with many of them forced to give up normal lives. The association noted that a survey conducted with nine women revealed that, although they may be their family's main income-earners, once they were diagnosed with HIV their family ignored their contributions. Cheng Shu-hsing, head of the Department of Infectious Diseases for Taoyuan General Hospital, said that many HIV-infected Taiwanese women are discouraged from bearing children, although there are medical services available to assist HIV-positive patients in giving birth to healthy infants. As of the end of February 2013, Taiwan had 1,714 recorded cases of HIV-infected women.