Physical Abuse During Pregnancy
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Metta Kuning 1 * , Don McNeil 2, Virasakdi Chongsuvivatwong 3
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1 Faculty of Science and Technology, Prince of Songkla University, Pattani, Thailand
2 Department of Statistics, School of Economics, Macquarie University
3 Epidemiology Unit, Faculty of Medicine, Prince of Songkla University, Pattani, Thailand
* Corresponding Author

Abstract

To study the prevalence and predictors of physical abuse among pregnant women in Pattani Hospital, Pattani, Thailand. A total of 611 women receiving antenatal clinic services through Pattani Hospital between July 1, 2002 and November 21, 2002 were interviewed. Information was collected on the women’s sociodemographic characteristics, experience of abuse, demographic characteristics of their partners, partner’s smoking habit and use of alcohol. The women’s experience of abuse was assessed by a questionnaire modified from the Abuse Assessment Scale (AAS). In all, 99 (16.2%) women reported experiencing past physical abuse (during a prior pregnancy or during the preceding year), 24 (3.9%) reported experiencing physical abuse during their current pregnancy, and 58 (9.5%) reported experiencing physical abuse both in the past and during their current pregnancy. Physical abuse was associated with parity, marital status, length of relationship, women’s education, smoking habit and the use of alcohol by their partner. After adjustment for confounding factors, the strongest risk factor for physical abuse during pregnancy was partner with a drinking problem. Women whose partner had a drinking problem were more likely to experience abuse during their current pregnancy than those whose partners did not have a drinking problem. In this study, one in eight pregnant women experienced physical abuse during current pregnancy. All types of abuse should be routinely ascertained in antenatal clinics.

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This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Article Type: Original Article

https://doi.org/10.29333/ejgm/82171

EUR J GEN MED, 2004 - Volume 1 Issue 2, pp. 6-10

Publication date: 15 Apr 2004

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