Effects of Domestic Violence on Perinatal and Early-Childhood Mortality: Evidence From North India
Saifuddin Ahmed, MBBS, PhD,
Michael A. Koenig, PhD and
Rob Stephenson, PhD
Saifuddin Ahmed and Michael A. Koenig are with the Department of Population and Family Health Sciences, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Md. Rob Stephenson is with the Department of International Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, Ga.
Correspondence: Requests for reprints should be sent to: Saifuddin Ahmed, MBBS, PhD, Department of Population and Family Health Sciences, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, 615 N Wolfe St, #E462, Baltimore, MD 21205 (e-mail: sahmed{at}jhsph.edu).
Objective. We examined the effect of physical violence duringpregnancy on perinatal and early-childhood mortality.
Methods. We estimated the prevalence of domestic violence duringpregnancy among a population-based sample of 2199 women in UttarPradesh, India. We used a survival regression model to examinethe risks for perinatal, neonatal, postneonatal, and early-childhood(aged 13 years) mortality by mothers exposureto domestic violence, after we controlled for other sociodemographicand maternal health behavior risk factors.
Results. Eighteen percent of the women in our study experienceddomestic violence during their last pregnancy. After we adjustedfor other risk factors, births among mothers who had experienceddomestic violence had risks for perinatal and neonatal mortalitythat were 2.59 (95% confidence interval [CI]=1.35, 4.95) and2.37 (95% CI=1.21, 4.62) times higher, respectively, than birthsamong mothers who had not experienced violence. We found nosignificant associations between domestic violence and eitherpostneonatal or early-childhood mortality.
Conclusions. Domestic violence is a significant risk factorfor perinatal and neonatal mortality.
This article has been cited by other articles:
L. K. Ackerson and S. V. Subramanian Intimate Partner Violence and Death Among Infants and Children in India
Pediatrics,
November 1, 2009;
124(5):
e878 - e889.
[Abstract][Full Text][PDF]
K. Asling-Monemi, R. T. Naved, and L. A. Persson Violence Against Women and Increases in the Risk of Diarrheal Disease and Respiratory Tract Infections in Infancy: A Prospective Cohort Study in Bangladesh
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med,
October 1, 2009;
163(10):
931 - 936.
[Abstract][Full Text][PDF]
K Asling-Monemi, R T Naved, and L A Persson Violence against women and the risk of fetal and early childhood growth impairment: a cohort study in rural Bangladesh
Arch. Dis. Child.,
October 1, 2009;
94(10):
775 - 779.
[Abstract][Full Text][PDF]
J. G. Silverman, M. R. Decker, J. Gupta, N. Kapur, A. Raj, and R. T. Naved Maternal Experiences of Intimate Partner Violence and Child Morbidity in Bangladesh: Evidence From a National Bangladeshi Sample
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med,
August 1, 2009;
163(8):
700 - 705.
[Abstract][Full Text][PDF]
E. K. Williams, M. B. Hossain, R. K. Sharma, V. Kumar, C. M. Pandey, and A. H. Baqui Birth Interval and Risk of Stillbirth or Neonatal Death: Findings from Rural North India
J Trop Pediatr,
October 1, 2008;
54(5):
321 - 327.
[Abstract][Full Text][PDF]
J. Cook and S. Bewley Acknowledging a persistent truth: domestic violence in pregnancy
J R Soc Med,
July 1, 2008;
101(7):
358 - 363.
[Abstract][Full Text][PDF]
L. K. Ackerson and S. V. Subramanian Domestic Violence and Chronic Malnutrition among Women and Children in India
Am. J. Epidemiol.,
May 15, 2008;
167(10):
1188 - 1196.
[Abstract][Full Text][PDF]