Author
Abstract
Background and purpose: Violence is a pattern of coercive behavior designed to exert power and control over a person in an intimate relationship through the use of intimidating, threatening, harmful or harassing behavior. This significant social hassle affects all female life particularly their pregnancy life, when its prevalence varies between 0.9% and 20%. On the other hand, due to the naturally stressful experience of pregnancy, its association with violent behaviors can have adverse effects on both mother and the baby. There have been reports of low birth weight cases, early labor and still births in such victims but no comprehensive study has been conducted in this regard. The purpose of this study has been to determine the pregnancy outcome in pregnant women who had been victims of physical violence by their spouses.
Methods and Materials: This cross-sectional descriptive analytical study was conducted on 587 pregnant women selected through convenient sampling. Data collection was done through observation and face-to-face interview. Content validity and simultaneous observation were used to determine the validity and reliability of the questionnaire and checklist, respectively.
Results: 14.5% of the subjects were under domestic violence during pregnancy. Also, in victims of domestic violence the third phase of labor was significantly longer (p
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