@article{ref1,
title="The impact of domestic violence and depressive symptoms on preterm birth in South India",
journal="Social psychiatry and psychiatric epidemiology",
year="2016",
author="Rao, Deepa and Kumar, Shuba and Mohanraj, Rani and Frey, Sarah and Manhart, Lisa E. and Kaysen, Debra L.",
volume="51",
number="2",
pages="225-232",
abstract="PURPOSE: India has the highest absolute number of maternal deaths, preterm birth cases, and under-5 mortality in the world, as well as high domestic violence (DV) rates. We sought to examine the impact of DV and its psychosocial correlates on pregnancy and birth outcomes. <br><br>METHODS: Women seeking antenatal care in Tamil Nadu, South India (N = 150) were assessed during pregnancy, and birth outcomes were abstracted from medical records after the babies were born. <br><br>RESULTS: We found that psychological abuse (OR 3.9; 95 % CI 1.19-12.82) and mild or greater depressive symptoms (OR 3.3; 95 % CI 0.99-11.17) were significantly associated with increased risk of preterm birth. Physical abuse was also associated with increased risk of preterm birth, but this was not statistically significant (OR 1.9; 95 % CI 0.59-6.19). In each of the above adjusted models, low maternal education was associated with increased risk of preterm birth, in the analysis with depressive symptoms OR 0.18, CI 0.04-0.86 and in the analyses with psychological abuse OR 0.19, CI 0.04-0.91. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that future research should focus on understanding the psychosocial antecedents to preterm birth, to better target interventions and improve maternal child health in limited resource settings.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0933-7954",
doi="10.1007/s00127-015-1167-2",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00127-015-1167-2"
}