Citation

Rao D, Kumar S, Mohanraj R, Frey S, Manhart LE, Kaysen DL. Soc. Psychiatry Psychiatr. Epidemiol. 2016; 51(2): 225-232.

Affiliation

Departments of Global Health, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington, Box 359931, 325 9th Ave, Seattle, WA, 98104, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/s00127-015-1167-2

PMID

26747253

Abstract

PURPOSE: India has the highest absolute number of maternal deaths, preterm birth cases, and under-5 mortality in the world, as well as high domestic violence (DV) rates. We sought to examine the impact of DV and its psychosocial correlates on pregnancy and birth outcomes.

METHODS: Women seeking antenatal care in Tamil Nadu, South India (N = 150) were assessed during pregnancy, and birth outcomes were abstracted from medical records after the babies were born.

RESULTS: We found that psychological abuse (OR 3.9; 95 % CI 1.19-12.82) and mild or greater depressive symptoms (OR 3.3; 95 % CI 0.99-11.17) were significantly associated with increased risk of preterm birth. Physical abuse was also associated with increased risk of preterm birth, but this was not statistically significant (OR 1.9; 95 % CI 0.59-6.19). In each of the above adjusted models, low maternal education was associated with increased risk of preterm birth, in the analysis with depressive symptoms OR 0.18, CI 0.04-0.86 and in the analyses with psychological abuse OR 0.19, CI 0.04-0.91.

CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that future research should focus on understanding the psychosocial antecedents to preterm birth, to better target interventions and improve maternal child health in limited resource settings.

Language: en