Objectives: North Carolina women were surveyed to estimate the state-wide prevalence of a variety of stressful life events before and/or during pregnancy, to estimate the state-wide prevalence of physical abuse before and/or during pregnancy, and to examine associations between abuse and other types of stressful events. Methods: Data from NC PRAMS were employed, a representative sample of 2600 North Carolina postpartum women. Information was examined concerning 13 stressful events, physical abuse, and sociodemographics. Descriptive statistics, bivariate analyses, and multivariate analyses were employed, all adjusted for sampling procedures. Results: Most women were married, high school graduates, aged 20 or older. Common stressors included residential moves (38%), increased arguing with husbands/partners (30%), family hospitalizations (29%), financial problems (26%), and deaths of family/friends (21%). The prevalence of abuse during the year before and/or during pregnancy was 9%, with half of these violated women suffering abuse both before and during pregnancy. Five of the 13 stressful events were significantly more common among abused women. Logistic regression analysis (which controlled for sociodemographics) found that, compared to non-abused women, the odds of experiencing multiple other types of stressful events were eleven times more likely among women abused both before and during pregnancy (OR=11.94), and were fourteen times more likely among women abused before but not during pregnancy (OR=14.19). Conclusions: Since abuse is common and is associated with a wider set of harmful events, maternal and child health professionals should work to develop and deliver interventions addressing a range of health, social, and legal problems.
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this session the participants will be able to: 1. Describe common life stressors experienced by pregnant women; 2. Describe the prevalence of physical abuse in the lives of pregnant women; and 3. Understand relationships between physical abuse during pregnancy and various other types of stressful life events
Keywords: Family Violence, Pregnancy
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.