title: Partner violence and abortion characteristics.
abstract: We conducted a retrospective cohort study using randomly selected medical charts of women reporting a history of partner violence and women with no history of partner violence at the time of a family planning or abortion appointment (n = 6,564 per group). We analyzed lifetime history of partner violence for odds of lifetime history of abortion and miscarriage number, and birth control problems. To more closely match timing, we analyzed a subsample of 2,186 women reporting current violence versus not at the time of an abortion appointment for differences in gestational age, medical versus surgical method choice, and return for follow-up visit. After adjusting for years at risk and demographic characteristics, women with a past history of partner violence were not more likely to have ever had one abortion, but they were more likely to have had problems with birth control, repeat abortions, and miscarriages than women with no history of violence. Women with current partner violence were also more likely to be receiving an abortion at a later gestational age. We found no differences between the groups in return for abortion follow-up visit or choice of surgical versus medication abortion. Findings support screening for the influence of partner violence on reproductive health and related safety planning.
authors.affiliation: a Planned Parenthood of New York City , New York , New York , USA.
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Colarossi
authors.forename: Gillian
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Dean
mesh_terms: D000028:Abortion, Induced / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005193:Family Planning Services; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009518:New York / Q000453:epidemiology; D011247:Pregnancy; D049168:Pregnancy, Unplanned; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012747:Sexual Partners; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013179:Spouse Abuse / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D018454:Spouses / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult