Abstract
Domestic abuse towards women is a prevalent social and societal problem throughout the world. The World Health Organization states that one in three women will experience some form of domestic abuse in their lifetime. A prominently neglected form of domestic abuse is domestic abuse against pregnant women. This chapter will explore the prevalence of domestic abuse in pregnant women along with the effects it has on both the mother and the developing baby. This paper will also include tools used to measure the severity of abuse used in clinical and research fields. Lastly, this paper will inspire ideas for future direction on how domestic abuse in pregnancy can be more quickly detected, and, overall, prevented.
TopDomestic Abuse In Pregnant Women
Domestic abuse is violence which actuates physical, psychological, economic, and sexual harm in a domestic setting such as marriage or cohabitation (Asratie, 2022). The term “domestic violence” can be used interchangeably with the term “intimate partner violence” depending on the perpetrators of the violence. Intimate partner violence (IPV) is perpetrated by either a spouse or a partner (World Health Organization, 2023). Some health effects of domestic abuse are immediate, such as short-term physical injuries and death. However, other health effects can be long-term, which may develop years after the abuse began and continue to affect the victim after it has ceased, including increased rates of chronic conditions, physical disabilities, sexually transmitted diseases, poor reproductive outcomes, self harm, alcohol disorders, and mental health conditions (William et al., 2022). The World Health Organization estimates that 1 in 3 women have been victims to some form of physical or sexual domestic or intimate partner violence, and 20% to 75% of women will be subjected to psychological violence in their lifetime (2023). Domestic abuse against pregnant women is a devastating and under-reported problem throughout the world (Asratie, 2022).
Domestic abuse can have severely harmful and life-threatening effects on women, and when a pregnant woman is subjected to any form of abuse it will not only affect the mother, but the baby as well. More than 320,000 women are abused during pregnancy each year worldwide (Tiwari et al., 2008). Physical, psychological and sexual abuse have the ability to take a great negative toll on the health of the mother and the developing baby physically, mentally, and emotionally. A mother must be free of fear and stress in order to have a safe, healthy pregnancy for both the pregnant mother and the baby.
There are many visuals as well as scales used by individuals in research and clinical fields to measure and explore domestic abuse. The Power and Control Wheel serves as a diagram of tactics that an abusive partner uses to keep their victim in a relationship. The wheel displays how subtle, continual abusive behaviors can escalate to physical and sexual violence, and how these actions can reinforce each other. To measure severity of cases of domestic abuse and intimate partner violence, researchers have developed the Conflict Tactics Scale, Conflict Tactics Scale 2, and the Abuse Assessment Screen. All of these tools work to detect and assess abuse and violence within households. These forms of measurement all involve extensive questionnaires consisting of questions such as, “Have you ever been emotionally or physically abused by your partner or someone important to you” or “Within the last year, have you been hit, slapped, kicked or otherwise physically hurt by someone” (UCLA, 2012).
This paper also explores possible future research and investigations that could be made to improve general knowledge of the signs and effects of domestic abuse as well as steps societies and healthcare workers could take to better assess and detect domestic abuse in women and steps to take to improve preventative measures.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Intimate Partner Violence: Abuse or aggression that occurs in a romantic relationship. Miscarriage: The spontaneous loss of a woman's pregnancy before the 20th week that can be both physically and emotionally painful.
Physical Abuse: Hurting or trying to hurt one’s partner by hitting, kicking, burning, grabbing, pinching, shoving, slapping, hair-pulling, biting, denying medical care or forcing alcohol and/or drug use, or using other physical force.
Uterine Rupture: A serious complication where your uterus tears or breaks open.
Economic Abuse: A form of domestic abuse in which a partner exerts control over the victim’s money and finances, things they can buy, bills, banking, and borrowing.
Domestic Abuse: Violence which actuates physical, psychological, economic, and sexual harm in a domestic setting such as marriage or cohabitation.
aaS: Abuse Assessment Screen (AAS) is an assessment tool used by medical staff to detect and assess intimate partner violence and domestic abuse in a variety of clinical and research settings. CTS: Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS) a scale used to study violence within families.
Placental Abruption: A serious pregnancy complication in which the placenta detaches from the womb (uterus).
Psychological Abuse: Undermining one’s sense of self worth through criticism, name-calling, insults, belittling one’s abilities, and various other forms of verbal abuse.
CTS2: Conflict Tactics Scale 2 (CTS2) an updated version of the CTS used to study violence within families.
Sexual Abuse: Forcing a partner to take part in a sexual act without the partner’s consent. Stillbirth: When a baby dies in the womb after 20 weeks of pregnancy.