Physical and sexual abuse of women before, during, and after pregnancy

Objectives: To examine patterns of physical and sexual abuse before, during, and after pregnancy. Methods: A community-based interview survey of a representative group of women with children aged 6-18 months was carried out between November 1, 2001, and February 28, 2002, in 32 communities of the Tianjing, Liaoning, Henan, and Shannxi provinces. Results: The overall prevalence of physical and sexual abuse (occurring before, during, and after pregnancy) was 11.7%. The prevalence of physical and sexual abuse before pregnancy was 8.5%, compared with 3.6% during pregnancy and 7.4% during an average postpartum period of 11 months. Abuse before pregnancy was a strong indicator of abuse during pregnancy and after delivery, and abuse during a previous period was a strong indicator of subsequent abuse. Most abuse was recurrent and not severe. Conclusion: Routine screening for abuse in the maternity services setting is advocated to decrease the effect of abuse on women and their children. (C) 2003 International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.