Amna Kazi, Anjum Afshan.
Domestic Violence During Pregnancy and its Effects on Gestational Age and Birth Weight.
Proceeding Shaikh Zayed Postgrad Med Comp Jan ;22(2):37-42.

Objective: To estimate the prevalence and characteristics of domestic violence in pregnancy and to determine its relationship with gestational age a nd birth weight. Design: Cross-sectional prospective study. Place and Duration of study: Sobhraj Maternity Hospital, Karachi from December 2003 to May 2004. Patients and Methods: One thousand low-income, relative ly low risk, recently delivered women participated in this study. Confidential interviews were conducted using a structured questionnaire. The main outcome measures were a history of domestic abuse in the antecedent pregnancy, its nature and severity, infant gestational age at delivery and birth weight. Results: In this study, the prevalence of domestic violence during pregnancy was 24.8%. Women who reported physical, sexual or emotional abuse during pregnancy were significantly more likely than non-abused women to give birth prematurely (23.8% versus 8.1%, p = 0.001) or to a baby with low birth weight (32.1% versus 7.4 %, p = 0.001). Conclusion: The present data suggests that domestic violence during pregnancy can play a role in preterm birth and low birth weight. As healthcare professionals, we need to be aware of this issue and maintain a high index of suspicion for the possibility of abuse in our clinical work.

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