Violence and substance use among North Carolina pregnant women.
OBJECTIVE
Prenatal patients were studied to examine the proportion of women who had been violence victims, women's patterns of substance use (cigarettes, alcohol, and illegal drugs) before and during pregnancy, and relationships between violence and substance use.


METHODS
More than 2000 prenatal patients in North Carolina were screened for violence and substance use. Relationships between violence and patterns of substance use before and during pregnancy were examined, as well as women's continuation of substance use during pregnancy as a function of violence and sociodemographic factors.


RESULTS
Twenty-six percent of the women had been violence victims during their lives. Before pregnancy, 62% of the women had used one or more substances; during pregnancy, 31% had used one or more substances. Both before and during pregnancy, violence victims were significantly more likely to use multiple substances than nonvictims. Continuation of substance use during pregnancy was significantly more likely among violence victims than nonvictims.


CONCLUSIONS
Care providers should screen women for violence as well as for substance use and should ensure that women are provided with appropriate interventions.
Martin
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Department of Maternal and Child Health, School of Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill 27599-7400, USA.
English
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Clark
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Cilenti
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Kupper
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D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008403:Mass Screening; D009657:North Carolina / Q000453:epidemiology; D011159:Population Surveillance; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D011295:Prenatal Care; D012307:Risk Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013179:Spouse Abuse / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control