Intimate partner violence during pregnancy and maternal and child health outcomes: a scoping review of the literature from low-and-middle income countries from 2016 - 2021

Abstract

Background Intimate partner violence (IPV) during pregnancy is significantly associated with negative outcomes for both mother and child. Current evidence indicates an association between low levels of social support and IPV, however there is less evidence from low-and-middle income countries (LMIC) than high-income countries. Globally, the COVID-19 pandemic has radically altered how women can access social support. Hence since 2020, studies investigating IPV and pregnancy have occurred within the changing social context of the pandemic. Objective This scoping review summarizes the evidence from LMICs about the effects of IPV during pregnancy on maternal and child health. The review includes the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on social support as mentioned in studies conducted since 2020. Design Library databases were used to identify papers from 2016 to 2021. These studies reported the maternal and child health outcomes of IPV during pregnancy, and described how social support during pregnancy, and the COVID-19 pandemic, were associated with rates of IPV during pregnancy. Observational study designs, qualitative and mixed methods studies were included. Results Twenty - six studies from 13 LMICs were included. Half (n = 13) were cross sectional studies which only collected data at one time-point. IPV during pregnancy was significantly associated with higher odds of postpartum depression, low birth weight, preterm birth and less breastfeeding in the year after birth. Lower levels of social support increased the odds of experiencing IPV during pregnancy, whilst higher levels of social support reduced antenatal anxiety and depression in women experiencing IPV during pregnancy. Of the four studies that investigated IPV during pregnancy throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, only one compared prevalence before and after the pandemic and unexpectedly reported a lower prevalence. Conclusions Further research on the impact of IPV during pregnancy on maternal and child outcomes in LMICs is required, especially evidence from longitudinal studies investigating a wider range of outcomes. To date, there is limited evidence on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on IPV during pregnancy in LMICs, and this should be prioritized as the pandemic continues to affect women’s access to social support globally.

Ambiente externo da mulher e sífilis congênita à luz da Teoria da Conservação de Levine [External environment of woman and congenital syphilis in the light of Levine´s Conservation Theory] [Ambiente externo de la mujer y sífilis congénita a la luz de la Teoría de la Conservación de Levine]

“…Em parte, isso explica como a violência intrafamiliar se fez presente na vida de algumas mulheres até culminar em violência por parceiro íntimo (VPI) 27 , a qual foi vivenciada por todas as participantes deste estudo durante a gestação, embora este seja um momento no qual precisam de atenção e cuidados com sua saúde [28][29][30] . Essa realidade é apontada por diversas pesquisas brasileiras 10,[31][32][33] , denotando que o ambiente externo das mulheres é violento e reflexo de uma sociedade androcêntrica ancorada em valores patriarcais que reproduzem desigualdades de gênero e as violências 28,30 .…”

The relationship between national cultural dimensions, maternal anxiety and depression, and national breastfeeding rates: An analysis of data from 122 countries

“…Third, as it is based on populationlevel data, the study findings cannot be directly extrapolated to individuals; population-level findings are subject to the "ecological fallacy" (Roumeliotis et al, 2021) and cannot be translated directly into individual-level recommendations. Fourth, it is highly likely that breastfeeding outcomes may be influenced by other variables that were not included in this study, but exert a significant effect at an individual level: these include maternal employment and workplace policies (Vilar-Compte et al, 2021), marital and family discord (Ahmed et al, 2022), intimate partner violence (Miller-Graff et al, 2018;Da Thi Tran et al, 2022), and health literacy, which is distinct from educational attainment (Haaland and Sitaraman, 2022). Fifth, the outcome variable used in this study was the rate of "ever having breastfed;" thus, this study cannot distinguish between factors associated with the initiation of breastfeeding and those associated with its maintenance over a period of 6 months.…”

Antenatal maternal intimate partner violence exposure is associated with sex-specific alterations in brain structure among young infants: Evidence from a South African birth cohort

“…According to large population-based household and national health surveys, the prevalence of violence against women by their intimate partner varies widely across countries but tends to be substantially higher in low-income and middle-income countries versus high-income countries ( Coll et al, 2020 , Garcia-Moreno et al, 2006 ). Maternal IPV exposure during pregnancy not only has negative mental and physical health consequences for women ( McKelvie et al, 2021 ), but is also associated with poor health and developmental outcomes for their children ( Chai et al, 2016 , Da Thi Tran et al, 2022 ) and is a serious public health concern. The present study utilizes data from the Drakenstein Child Health Study (DCHS), a multidisciplinary South African birth cohort study, to conduct the first examination of how antenatal IPV exposure affects early brain development.…”