Silent sufferers: A study of domestic violence among pregnant women attending the ANC OPD at a Primary Health Care Centre

Introduction: Domestic violence against women is one of the most pervasive abuses of human rights in the world. Violence during pregnancy leads to both acute injuries and profound long-term challenges to health and wellbeing. Pregnancy provides a good opportunity for healthcare personal to screen women for domestic violence. Aim: To identify the pattern of domestic violence amongst pregnant women and to plan appropriate interventions. Settings and Design: This cross-sectional study was carried out at Primary Health Care Centre. Methods and Material: 90 pregnant women attending the ANC OPD and fulfilling the inclusion criteria were interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire. Data were compiled and analyzed using SPSS version 24. Percentages were calculated and Chi-square test was used wherever applicable. Results: Violence was mostly seen in the women who were married for five years (47.36%) and many among them experienced it within one year of marriage (34.28%). The most common violence faced by the women was verbal violence (44.73%), followed by financial violence (27.63%). Physical violence was experienced by 22.36% women. The Perceived risk factor for violence was mostly addiction of spouse in 26.31% of women and insufficient dowry and demand for male child in 19.73%. Conclusions: As occurrence of violence was found to be significantly associated with duration of marriage, educational status, and earning status of women asking about intimate partner violence should be a part of routine antenatal care for early detection and identification of cases, their counseling, and appropriate interventions.