Exploring the determinants and outcomes of intimate partner violence during pregnancy for Guyanese women: Results from a nationally representative cross-sectional household survey

• Published in: Revista Panamericana de Salud Pública
• Main Authors: Lior Miller, Manuel Contreras-Urbina
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English; Spanish; Portuguese
• Published: Pan American Health Organization 2021
• Subjects: intimate partner violence; pregnancy; domestic violence; physical abuse; mental health; guyana; Medicine; R; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Public aspects of medicine; RA1-1270; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.26633/RPSP.2021.6; https://doaj.org/article/1985cd5a24ea4c6db5a3985b9febc7ee

Objective. To determine predictors associated with physical violence during pregnancy, and to determine the relationship between exposure to intimate partner violence during pregnancy and womens health and suicide ideation in Guyana. Methods. A secondary data analysis of a cross-sectional household survey. Multivariate logistic regression models were fitted to the data to estimate the association between physical violence during pregnancy, controlling partner behavior, and other predictors. Ordered logistic regression models were fitted to estimate the association between physical violence during pregnancy and womens health, and lifetime physical partner violence and overall health. Logistic regression models were fitted to estimate associations between physical violence during pregnancy and lifetime physical partner violence and overall health and suicide ideation. Results. The prevalence of lifetime physical/sexual intimate partner violence was 38.8%, current physical/ sexual intimate partner violence 11.1%, and violence during pregnancy 9.2%. Controlling partner behavior was significantly and positively associated with maternal experience of physical violence during pregnancy. Experiencing physical partner violence during pregnancy, but not lifetime physical partner violence, was associated with significantly increased odds of poor overall health. Physical violence during pregnancy and lifetime physical violence were both significantly associated with increased odds of suicide ideation. Conclusions. The prevalence of violence during pregnancy in Guyana is high and is associated with adverse health outcomes. These findings suggest the need for intimate partner violence prevention, and for integrating intimate partner violence screening and treatment into antenatal care, reproductive health services, and maternal and child health programs and services to identify and treat at-risk women.