Commentary on Intimate partner violence during pregnancy and associated mental health symptoms among pregnant women in Tanzania: A cross-sectional study

摘要

Over the past three decades, there has been an exponential increase in the scientific literature on violence against women (Jordan CE Violence Against Women 2009;15:393-419), with some research focused on violence during pregnancy. These studies have found that violence during pregnancy is an important concern because of the extent of the problem and the associated burden of suffering (Martin SL et al., VAWnet 2012, available at www.vawnet.org). Prevalence estimates of violence during pregnancy vary considerably, from approximately 1 to 40%, reflecting both true differences in the commonality of violence within various populations and methodological dissimilarities among studies. Such violence has been associated with women's physical and emotional health problems, as well as negative pregnancy and birth outcomes (Campbell JC Lancet 2002;359:1331-1336; Nwabuzor I et al. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, Published online before print January 11, 2013, doi: 10.1177/0886260512471080; Shah PS et al. J Womens Health 2010;19:2017-2031).