Premium
Physical and sexual abuse of women before, during, and after pregnancy
Author(s) -
Guo S.F,
Wu J.L,
Qu C.Y,
Yan R.Y
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
international journal of gynecology and obstetrics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.895
H-Index - 97
eISSN - 1879-3479
pISSN - 0020-7292
DOI - 10.1016/j.ijgo.2003.08.019
Subject(s) - medicine , pregnancy , sexual abuse , physical abuse , postpartum period , psychological abuse , child abuse , psychiatry , obstetrics , domestic violence , poison control , suicide prevention , environmental health , genetics , biology
Objectives: To examine patterns of physical and sexual abuse before, during, and after pregnancy. Methods: A community‐based interview survey of a representative group of women with children aged 6–18 months was carried out between November 1, 2001, and February 28, 2002, in 32 communities of the Tianjing, Liaoning, Henan, and Shannxi provinces. Results: The overall prevalence of physical and sexual abuse (occurring before, during, and after pregnancy) was 11.7%. The prevalence of physical and sexual abuse before pregnancy was 8.5%, compared with 3.6% during pregnancy and 7.4% during an average postpartum period of 11 months. Abuse before pregnancy was a strong indicator of abuse during pregnancy and after delivery, and abuse during a previous period was a strong indicator of subsequent abuse. Most abuse was recurrent and not severe. Conclusion: Routine screening for abuse in the maternity services setting is advocated to decrease the effect of abuse on women and their children.