Preterm delivery and the severity of violence during pregnancy.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the severity and consequences of physical violence during pregnancy among participants in a health department prenatal care coordination program.


METHODS
The prospective cohort study included all program participants from 1994 to 1996. Care coordinators screened participants for physical violence during pregnancy using a validated, systematic assessment protocol three times during prenatal care. The protocol was linked with prenatal records, delivery records and infant records to document complications and infant outcomes. Multiple logistic regression was used to assess the relationship between severe physical violence during pregnancy and pregnancy outcome while controlling for confounding factors.


RESULTS
Among the 550 participants, 13.5% reported violence during pregnancy; it included 6.7% severe violence (hitting, kicking, injury with a weapon and abdominal injury) and 6.7% moderate violence (threats, slapping, shoving and sexual abuse). Severe physical prenatal violence was significantly associated with spontaneous preterm labor, preterm delivery, very preterm delivery, very low birth weight, preterm/low birth weight, mean birth weight, mean newborn hospital charges, five-minute Apgar < 7, neonatal intensive care unit admission, and fetal or neonatal death. Body site injured, timing of violence and number of violent incidents were significant factors associated with violence during pregnancy and preterm delivery.


CONCLUSIONS
Because severe physical violence during pregnancy was a significant problem in this population, intervention programs are needed to reduce prenatal violence and its consequences.
Covington
D L
DL
Coastal Area Health Education Center, New Hanover Regional Medical Center, Wilmington, North Carolina, USA. dcovington@ec.rr.com
Hage
M
M
Hall
T
T
Mathis
M
M
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001724:Birth Weight; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D005313:Fetal Death; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D019102:Infant, Very Low Birth Weight; D007752:Obstetric Labor, Premature / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D012307:Risk Factors; D014754:Violence