Can I breastfeed my baby if its father is HIV positive?

Dear Doctor: I am HIV negative but my husband is HIV positive. Can I breastfeed my baby? My people are saying I should not breastfeed!
— Jane

Dear Jane: Your kind of question means your husband did not accompany you for antenatal care where advice would have been given. Also even if you attended Antenatal alone, you should have disclosed that he was HIV positive for proper advice.
If a woman is HIV negative, unless there are other reasons for not breastfeeding, she should breastfeed regardless of whether the husband is HIV positive. The fear to breastfeed is to infect the baby with HIV if a mother has it, but since you say you are negative then go ahead and breastfeed. It is advised that if a woman is HIV negative and the husband HIV positive, the couple should not engage in unprotected sex at any time but more especially when a woman can more easily get infected, during pregnancy.
Breastfeeding is important and if a mother is HIV positive, then she should breastfeed exclusively for six months.