Maternal-Fetal Attachment and Domestic Violence in Iranian and Afghan Pregnant Women: A Cross-Cultural Study

Abstract

Background: Domestic violence against pregnant women is becoming more frequent and intense. Studies have shown that women who were under more physical and psychological violence experienced a lot of stress and depression and had less ability to communicate with their fetuses. International statistics show a high prevalence of violence against Afghan women and the communities migrated to Afghanistan. Therefore, the present study aimed to compare the maternal-fetal attachment and domestic violence between Iranian and Afghan pregnant women.Methods: This study has a descriptive-comparative cross-sectional design. The study population consisted of Iranian and Afghan pregnant women referred to Kerman Health Centers in 2018-2019. One hundred-forty-six Iranian pregnant women and 142 Afghan pregnant women were enrolled in the study by the quota sampling. Data collection tools were demographic and clinical information questionnaire, questionnaires of domestic violence against women, and maternal-fetal attachment scale. Results: The mean score of maternal-fetal attachment in Iranian and Afghan pregnant women was higher than the average. Also, scores of maternal-fetal attachment and its dimensions in Afghan pregnant women were significantly higher than that of Iranian pregnant women (P < 0.001). The mean score of domestic violence was low in Iranian and Afghan pregnant women. There was no significant difference between Iranian and Afghan pregnant women in the total score of domestic violence (P > 0.05). There was a significant inverse correlation between maternal-fetal attachment and domestic violence in Iranian pregnant women (P < 0.05). In Afghan pregnant women, there was a positive and significant correlation between maternal-fetal attachment and sexual violence in while there was a significant and reverse relationship between other dimensions of attachment and violence (P < 0.05).Conclusion: This study showed that the rate of violence in the studied populations was low, and maternal-fetal attachment rate is appropriate. The relationship between violence and mother-fetal attachment had a different pattern in Iranian and Afghan women. Therefore, further studies are needed to investigate the factors affecting maternal-fetal attachment, especially in Afghan women.