Intimate partner violence and unplanned pregnancy in the Pacific Islands Families Study.
OBJECTIVE
To examine the association between maternal intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization and unplanned pregnancy.


METHODS
Mothers of the Pacific Islands Families (PIF) Study cohort of Pacific infants born in Auckland, New Zealand during 2000 were interviewed when the children were 6 weeks old. A total of 1088 mothers cohabiting in married or de-facto partnerships were questioned about IPV and whether their pregnancy had been planned.


RESULTS
Women identified as victims of physical violence were more likely to report an unplanned pregnancy than those who were not victims (68.7% vs 55.1%, odds ratio [OR] 1.78; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.32-2.40). The adjusted odds remained statistically significant (OR 1.52; 95% CI, 1.01-2.26).


CONCLUSIONS
The findings of this study suggest an association between IPV and unplanned pregnancy in the Pacific birth cohort.
Gao
Wanzhen
W
Faculty of Health and Environmental Sciences, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand. Wanzhen.gao@aut.ac.nz
Paterson
Janis
J
Carter
Sarnia
S
Iusitini
Leon
L
D000328:Adult; D018585:Battered Women; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D009520:New Zealand / Q000453:epidemiology; D016017:Odds Ratio; D010139:Pacific Islands / Q000208:ethnology; D011247:Pregnancy; D049168:Pregnancy, Unplanned; D015995:Prevalence; D013179:Spouse Abuse / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*