History of Violence During Pregnancy Among Women Applying to a Women Hospital: A Cross-Sectional Study Address for

Abstract

Objectives: The violence observed before pregnancy seems to continue and even flare-up during pregnancy with reportedprevalence as high as 33.3%. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of domestic violence among pregnantwomen applying to a hospital.Methods: The study was conducted at the Nenehatun Gynecology and Obstetrics Hospital in Erzurum betweenSeptember 2017 and February 2018 in a cross-sectional plan. Participants of the study consisted of pregnant women,who applied for regular elective follow-up visits. Consecutive women visiting the department of obstetrics during thestudy period (n=580) constituted the study population. Women who already participated in the survey, emergencyapplications, and applications during night shifts (n=169) were excluded.Results: Results for 375 women were analyzed. More than half of the respondents (50.4%, n=189) had experiencedviolence during pregnancy. Verbal abuse was present in all violated women; none of the participants reported sexualviolence. 10.7% (n=40) reported physical violence. 115 women (n=30.7) reported of having some sort of violence alsobefore the pregnancy. In 81% of cases (n=153), the perpetrator was the spouse. None of the victims applied to the authorities.Higher educational status had a 12.8-fold decreasing effect on domestic violence risk.Conclusion: Domestic violence among pregnant women in Eastern Turkey is still high. Efforts should continue to empowerwomen, even implementing a positive discriminatory approach concerning women education and targetingthe perpetrators to stop the violence. Abusers should receive a clear message that there is zero tolerance for domesticviolence in the community.