title: Domestic violence against pregnant women in iran.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the relationship between preterm birth and domestic violence against pregnant women in Iran.
  
  
  METHODS
  This cross-sectional study was carried out on 600 women who were hospitalized for giving birth in one of hospitals affiliated to Tehran Medical Science University in Iran, between September 9, 2010 and December 30, 2010. This study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee affiliated with Tehran University, Iran. We applied Abuse Assessment Screen (AAS) Questionnaire.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 338 participants (56.3%) declared to experience domestic violence during pregnancy. Psychological violence was the most common form of violence against these women in postpartum (51.3%), and followed by physical violence (5%). Prevalence rate of premature labor was 37.7% among all women in this study which 63.3% of this rate belongs to abuse women.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  It is noted that healthcare providers with screening violence during pregnancy and assessing the prevalence, consequences, and possible interventions may help to reduce domestic violence against pregnant women.
authors: Department of Nursing and Midwifery, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors: Mansoureh
authors: M
authors: Jamshidimanesh
authors: Department of Nursing and Midwifery, Islamic Azad University of Medical Sciences of Zanjan, Zanjan, Iran.
authors: Mina
authors: M
authors: Soleymani
authors: Department of Nursing and Midwifery, Islamic Azad University of Medical Sciences of Maragheh, Maragheh, Iran.
authors: Elham
authors: E
authors: Ebrahimi
authors: Department of Statistics, School of Management and Medical Information, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors: Fatemeh
authors: F
authors: Hosseini
keywords: Domestic violence; Intimate Partner violence; Pregnancy violence; Preterm labor