"Silent sufferers: A study of domestic violence among pregnant women attending the ANC OPD at a Primary Health Care Centre".

Abstract

Domestic violence against women is one of the most pervasive abuses of human rights in the world. Violence during pregnancy leads to both acute injuries and profound long-term challenges to health and wellbeing. Pregnancy provides a good opportunity for healthcare personal to screen women for domestic violence. To identify the pattern of domestic violence amongst pregnant women and to plan appropriate interventions. This cross-sectional study was carried out at Primary Health Care Centre. 90 pregnant women attending the ANC OPD and fulfilling the inclusion criteria were interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire. Data were compiled and analyzed using SPSS version 24. Percentages were calculated and Chi-square test was used wherever applicable. Violence was mostly seen in the women who were married for five years (47.36%) and many among them experienced it within one year of marriage (34.28%). The most common violence faced by the women was verbal violence (44.73%), followed by financial violence (27.63%). Physical violence was experienced by 22.36% women. The Perceived risk factor for violence was mostly addiction of spouse in 26.31% of women and insufficient dowry and demand for male child in 19.73%. As occurrence of violence was found to be significantly associated with duration of marriage, educational status, and earning status of women asking about intimate partner violence should be a part of routine antenatal care for early detection and identification of cases, their counseling, and appropriate interventions.