Perinatal Intimate Partner Violence: A Qualitative Analysis of Mothers' Perceptions of Early Childhood Exposure

Abstract

Intimate partner violence (IPV) includes a range of activities inflicted upon a person by a current or former intimate partner. The abuse is often recurrent and patterned, intended at establishing power and control. IPV incidence rates are highest during young adulthood, the dynamics of which are made more complex during and immediately following a pregnancy (the perinatal period). This study focuses on women's perceptions of perinatal IPV. Data come from a qualitative study stemming from a community-based longitudinal project. Participants (n = 301) were screened for lifetime incidence of IPV, and those screening positive (n = 64) were asked to participate in a follow-up interview. Forty women agreed to an interview, and 25 of those described perinatal IPV. Within this subsample, the women were asked to recall the abuse they experienced during and after pregnancy, how it impacted their health and ability to parent, as well as the impacts they believed that the abuse had on their children. Their findings indicate that perinatal IPV is pervasive and consequential. A range of abuse trajectories occurred which left the women feeling demoralized as they entered parenthood. After the birth of their children, the women often shouldered disproportionate caretaking responsibilities in addition to navigating their abusers' ongoing control tactics. While they reported various forms of IPV and recognized that their children had been exposed to it, the women did not often exhibit a clear understanding of how their own victimization impacted their children, prenatally or upon birth. More recognition came in retrospect for those with older children. Understanding the nature of perinatal IPV is critical to identifying early childhood exposure, as well as effectively working with adult survivors to mitigate it.