Research shows ~5 percent of pregnant women report intimate partner violence

Intimate partner violence (IPV) during pregnancy is associated with delayed or no prenatal care and affects health conditions during pregnancy and infant birth outcomes, according to research published in the Dec. 5 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Megan Steele-Baser, Ph.D., from the CDC in Atlanta, and colleagues examined associations between IPV during pregnancy among women with a recent live birth with prenatal care initiation, health conditions during pregnancy, substance use during pregnancy, and infant birth outcomes using data from the 2016 to 2022 Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System in nine U.S. jurisdictions.

The researchers found that IPV was reported by 5.4 percent of the women during pregnancy, with emotional IPV the most prevalent, followed by physical and sexual IPV (5.2, 1.5, and 1.0 percent, respectively).

There were associations for all types of IPV with delayed or no prenatal care; depression during pregnancy; cigarette smoking; alcohol, marijuana, or illicit substance use; and having a low-birth-weight infant. Associations were seen for physical, sexual, and any IPV with having a preterm birth. There was an association observed for physical IPV with pregnancy-related hypertension.

“This report reinforces the importance of recognizing emotional, physical, and sexual IPV during pregnancy as a serious public health concern,” the authors write. “Because pregnant women experiencing IPV are less likely to receive timely prenatal care, prevention education and intervention in other program models, such as home visitation programs, can be considered.”

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