title: Interpersonal conflict and physical abuse in relation to pregnancy and infant birth weight.
abstract: Women's experiences of different kinds of abusive behavior by their partners were studied in relation to birth weight of the women's infants and other pregnancy outcome measures. Eighty-four women who delivered a low-birth-weight (< 2500 g) infant (cases) and 90 women who delivered an infant with higher birth weight (controls) were interviewed in a case-control study. Information about the partners' behavior during conflicts were obtained by use of a modified Conflict Tactics Scale. Different interpersonal conflict behaviors were categorized as negative verbal interaction or moderate or severe physical abuse. Women who had experienced moderate or severe violence in a relationship also had experienced negative verbal interaction from their partner. Low birth weight was not associated with experiences of any interpersonal conflict behavior in the total sample (OR 0.75, 95% CI 0.42-1.37). Among women with a low birth weight infant, mean birth weight was 261 g lower among those who reported any interpersonal conflict behavior during pregnancy. Birth of a low-birth-weight infant was not associated with abuse in a wide sense. Also, such abuse was unassociated with a variety of other complications during pregnancy, lifestyle characteristics, or pregnancy outcome measures.
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Medicine and General Practice, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Grimstad
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Schei
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Backe
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Jacobsen
mesh_terms: D001724:Birth Weight; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003220:Conflict, Psychological; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007230:Infant, Low Birth Weight; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008019:Life Style; D009664:Norway; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000523:psychology*; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects; D013179:Spouse Abuse / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires