Citation

Williams GB, Brackley MH. Issues Ment. Health Nurs. 2009; 30(4): 272-278.

Affiliation

Center for Violence Prevention, School of Nursing, The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas 78229-7951, USA. williamsg@uthscsa.edu

Copyright

(Copyright © 2009, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/01612840802710902

PMID

19363732

Abstract

Pregnant women whose lives are affected by intimate partner violence and unintended pregnancy are often faced with the decision for abortion. In this qualitative research, the authors explored women's experiences of unintended pregnancy and intimate partner violence (IPV) from the perspective of adult pregnant women seeking abortion. Women were assessed for intimate partner violence and study inclusion by means of two IPV screening tools. The authors collected data during one-to two-hour semi-structured interviews with eight pregnant women. At the completion of the interviews, all women were assessed for safety using an assessment of danger tool. Safety planning and referrals were provided for all women. Qualitative data collection and data analysis were guided by naturalistic inquiry to identify prevalent themes. Three major themes emerged from the data: (1) It Wasn't That Bad, (2) Then It Got Worse, and (3) If I Have the Baby He'll Come Back. Descriptive statistics were used to tabulate and describe the women's responses to the three tools.

Language: en