A Survey on Physical Violence during Pregnancy

Pregnancy does not prevent from physical violence but instead increases it. The purpose of this study was to evaluate physical violence during pregnancy and its effect on pregnancy in those women who referred to medical legal center and dissolv-ing discrepancy councils in Hamadan city، from 2006 to 2008. This descriptive cross-sectional study was performed on 170 pregnant women who referred to medical legal center and dissolving discrepancy council in Hamadan city، Iran. Sampling method was as simple clustering and the data was gathered with a questionnaire. Data processing and statistical analyses were performed using SPSS 13. 0. The results of this study showed that the majority of women (21. 78%) were 25 years old. 20. 58% of them had married in 16 years old. 71. 77% of them were housewives and 83. 53% of them lived in urban areas. The majority of samples lived in less than 70 meters rented homes (50. 58%). 54. 12% of them experienced physical violence before pregnancy and the rate of violence against them was raised to 88. 7%. The majority of the violences were in the second trimester، in upper and lower organs. The most important risk factors were poverty and unwanted pregnancies. Their prevalent consequences were abor-tion. Based on statistical analyses، there was a significant relationship between the consequences of violences and gestational age as well as the organs under violence (P<0. 05). Discussion & As the level of physical violence has increased، we recom-mend consulting and systematic screening for physical violence during pregnancy.