Citation

Makara-Studzińska M, Morylowska J, Zubel S. Zdrow. Publiczne 2008; 118(2): 216-219.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2008, Polskie Towarzystwo Higieniczne)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Domestic violence is still not sufficiently described phenomenon but it has been considered as one of the most important problems of public health. The aim of the paper is to review available literature about violence against pregnant women. Violence during pregnancy fluctuates between 1-19 %, it may be caused by differences in method of the individual study. One point is clear that most women experiencing violence during pregnancy were being abused before pregnancy too. Violence during pregnancy is a little less common event in comparison to the period before pregnancy for example but it shouldn’t be treated as a protective period. Generally the perpetrators of violence are intimate partners of pregnant women. There are some additional risk factors connected with violence which are similar to factors in other periods of life like lower education, poor economic status, younger age, taking drugs. Questions about being abused during pregnancy must be used as a standard procedure during prenatal care mostly because of dangerous consequences of violence for mother and child. The actions like occupational courses, family planning or improvement in public awareness should be the next step to prevent accidents of violence during pregnancy.