Impact of domestic violence against pregnant women in Minia governorate, Egypt: a cross sectional study

Abstract

Background Domestic violence is a common problem that is related to many serious short-term and long-term health hazards around the world. Methods During obtaining the medical history from the participants, the questions used to assess the abuse were derived from the widely used Abuse Assessment Screen (AAS). Potential risk factors including a variety of socio-demographic and reproductive health-relation indicators were assessed. The influence of violence on the pregnancy outcome was determined by the continuous follow-up till giving birth. Results 513 pregnant women were included. The prevalence of violence among them was 50.8%. The prevalence of physical, sexual, verbal, and emotional abuse was 30.2, 20, 41.7, and 45.4% respectively. Exposure to violence during pregnancy had significant effects on the women and their pregnancy outcome in the form of development of vaginal infection (P-value =0.036), vaginal bleeding (P-value = 0.008), preterm labour (P-value = 0.003), premature rupture of membrane (P-value = 0.001). Conclusion Violence against pregnant women in Minia Governorate, Egypt is common especially emotional violence and it has many adverse effects on the women and their pregnancy outcome. One of the most important risk factors is the fear of the husband which makes violence a continuous vicious circle.

Intimate Partner Violence During Pregnancy and Maternal Morbidity in South Ethiopia: A Cohort Study

“…This is consistent with other prior studies conducted in some African countries like Nigeria 52 and Egypt. 53 It is also consistent with previous studies conducted elsewhere. 23 , 46 , 51 , 54 The observed associations between IPV and maternal morbidity could be attributable to direct injury (mediated through psychosocial, emotional, and physical stress, depression, and low self-esteem) from IPV during pregnancy.…”

Maternal and Fetal Outcomes Among Pregnant Women Exposed to Violence

“…In Oregon, US, domestic abuse hotlines saw an increase in demand for their services as COVID-19 spreads throughout the state [ 5 ]. DV can manifest in a variety of ways, including sexual (sexual assault and degrading behavior), physical (injuring, incapacitating, and in its most extreme form, killing the victim), emotional (constant, unrelenting verbal barrage of insults and criticisms), and psychological (indignity, controlling what the victim can and cannot do, embarrassing the victim, isolation from friends or family, and financial) forms [ 6 ].…”

“…Also, a study by Priya et al reported that about 60% of the Indian women who were screened were positive for DV [ 9 ]. A cross-sectional study was conducted in Minya Governorate, Egypt, on 513 pregnant women, which showed that 50.8% were cases exposed to violence during pregnancy, and the prevalence of physical, sexual, verbal, and emotional was 30.2%, 20%, 41.7%, and 45.4%, respectively [ 6 ]. Additionally, in Saudi Arabia, a study conducted on 400 currently married females aged 19-65 years found that the prevalence of IPV was 44.8%, in the form of physical (18.5%), emotional (25.5%), sexual (19.2%), and economic (25.3%) violence [ 10 ].…”

“…The following elements are significantly associated with experiences of violence, even though none of these characteristics alone can fully explain why violence occurs. Women’s occupation, family income, partners’ alcohol use, women’s responsibility to be pregnant, history of being exposed to child abuse, seeing family violence, and having an antisocial personality disorder, all remained significant predictors of DV during pregnancy [ 6 , 10 ].…”

Fatores de risco associados ao parto prematuro: estudo caso-controle

“…Grande parte das mulheres acredita que o marido possui justificativas aceitáveis para agredirem suas esposas (KHATOON et al, 2021). As mulheres sofrem violência sexual, psicologica, fisica, verbal e economico pelos seus companheiros (ELKHATEEB et al, 2021). Esta situação ainda perdura por muitos motivos como medo, sigilo familiar, normas culturais, vergonha e estigma social (BERHANIE et al, 2019) Estudos comprovam que a mulher exposta a violência doméstica e/ou violência física pelo parceiro íntimo durante a gestação possui um risco maior de parto prematuro (MUSA et al, 2021).…”