Commentary on: Bianchi AL, McFarlane J, Nava A, et al. Rapid assessment to identify and quantify the risk of intimate partner violence during pregnancy. Birth 2014;41:88–92.
Implications for practice and research
The benefits of integrating regular intimate partner violence (IPV) screening procedures for pregnant women in clinical settings outweigh the cost of minimal time spent conducting assessments.
Healthcare providers must be trained to conduct IPV assessments and provide treatment referrals.
Future studies should use larger samples and compare shelter populations with general prenatal care.
Context
Existing literature demonstrates a robust association between IPV victimisation during pregnancy and the following: continued risk for IPV victimisation; mental and physical health problems among mothers; physical and developmental health problems for infants and children. Recent literature....