Domestic Violence and Related Factors During Pregnancy

Abstract

Introduction: This study was aimed to reveal violence, the risk factors during pregnancy, and to compare it with pre-pregnancy preiod. Method: This descriptive study was conducted in a maternity polyclinic in a Government Hospital during May 2012. We interviewed interviewed by face-to-face method with 109 volunteer women. The data was evaluated by using Chi-Square and Fisher’s Exact Tests. Results: The 62.4% of women stated that they were exposed to violence during this pregnancy. Verbal violence was the most frequent kind in pregnant women. Physical violence was found in 29.4% of the women. The factors affecting this violence during pregnancy have been found to be; the spouses’ educational level, number of children, the presence of violence before pregnancy and the presence of violence in the spouses’ past lives. Conclusion: The results from our study verified that violence was a quite common issue in pregnancy and pregnancy was’nt a barrier for domestic violence. Therefore, during antenatal follows counselling services should be given carefully to screen violence.