Citation

Koenig LJ, Whitaker DJ, Royce RA, Wilson TE, Ethier K, Fernandez MI. Am. J. Public Health 2006; 96(6): 1052-1059.

Affiliation

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2006, American Public Health Association)

DOI

10.2105/AJPH.2005.067744

PMID

16670222

PMCID

PMC1470613

Abstract

Objectives. We sought to describe and compare prevalence rates of and risk factors for violence against women during pregnancy and postpartum. Methods. Physical and sexual violence and violence risk factors were assessed during late pregnancy and 6 months postpartum in a prospective study of pregnant women with (n=336) and without (n=298) HIV in 4 US states. Results. Overall, 10.6% of women reported having experienced violence, 8.9% during pregnancy and 4.9% after delivery. Of these women, 61.7% were abused only during their pregnancy, 21.7% were repeatedly abused, and 16.7% were abused only after their delivery. Sexual violence rarely occurred in the absence of physical violence. The strongest predictor of violence was engaging in bartered sex (adjusted odds ratio [OR]=5.54; 95% confidence interval [CI] =2.0, 15.4). Other predictors included frequent changes in residence (adjusted OR=1.57; 95% CI= 1.1, 2.2), financial support from family or partners (adjusted OR= 0.42; 95% CI= 0.2, 0.8), and HIV diagnosis during current pregnancy (adjusted OR= 0.30; 95% CI = 0.1, 0.7). Conclusions. Womenmore commonly experiencedviolence during than after their pregnancy, but violence was bestpredicted by socioeconomicand behavioral indicators whose influence did not vary over time.

Language: en