Prevalence of Experiencing Physical, Emotional, and Sexual Violence by a Current Intimate Partner during Pregnancy: Population-based Estimates from the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System

• Published in: Journal of family violence Vol. 38; no. 1; pp. 117 - 126
• Main Authors: D’Angelo, Denise V., Bombard, Jennifer M., Lee, Rosalyn D., Kortsmit, Katherine, Kapaya, Martha, Fasula, Amy
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01-01-2023; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Childbirth & labor; Clinical Psychology; Conjugal violence; Criminology and Criminal Justice; Demography; Distribution; Domestic violence; Emotions; Evaluation; Health care industry; Health problems; Health services utilization; Health status; Infants; Intimate partner violence; Law and Psychology; Low birth weight; Marijuana; Maternal and infant welfare; Maternal characteristics; Medical diagnosis; Medical personnel; Medical screening; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Mental disorders; Mental health; Mental health services; Methods; Monitoring systems; Original Article; Pregnancy; Pregnant women; Premature birth; Prenatal care; Prevention programs; Psychotherapy and Counseling; Quality of Life Research; Risk assessment; Risk factors; Sex crimes; Sexual violence; Social aspects; Tests; Unwanted pregnancy; Wife abuse; Women; Womens health; United States; Pregnancy; PRAMS; Intimate partner violence; Emotional violence
• ISSN: 0885-7482; 1573-2851
• DOI: 10.1007/s10896-022-00356-y

Intimate partner violence (IPV) during pregnancy presents a risk for maternal mental health problems, preterm birth, and having a low birthweight infant. We assessed the prevalence of self-reported physical, emotional, and sexual violence during pregnancy by a current partner among women with a recent live birth. We analyzed data from the 2016–2018 Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System in six states to calculate weighted prevalence estimates and 95% confidence intervals for experiences of violence by demographic characteristics, health care utilization, and selected risk factors. Overall, 5.7% of women reported any type of violence during pregnancy. Emotional violence was most prevalent (5.4%), followed by physical violence (1.5%), and sexual violence (0.9%). Among women who reported any violence, 67.6% reported one type of violence, 26.5% reported two types, and 6.0% reported three types. Reporting any violence was highest among women using marijuana or illicit substances, experiencing pre-pregnancy physical violence, reporting depression, reporting an unwanted pregnancy, and experiencing relationship problems such as getting divorced, separated, or arguing frequently with their partner. There was no difference in report of discussions with prenatal care providers by experience of violence. The majority of women did not report experiencing violence, however among those who did emotional violence was most frequently reported. Assessment for IPV is important, and health care providers can play an important role in screening. Coordinated prevention efforts to reduce the occurrence of IPV and community-wide resources are needed to ensure that pregnant women receive needed services and protection.