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Context:Domestic violence against women is known to be common and violence against pregnant women can create an adverse outcome both for the mother and the fetus.


Objectives: To estimate the prevalence of domestic violence against pregnant women in Enugu, Nigeria and to identify the risk factors promoting such violence.


Study Design, Setting and Subjects:Trained personnel administered a self-reporting domestic-abuse questionnaire to 409 women attending antenatal clinics at the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital between May and August 2000.


Results:A total of 424 women were attending antenatal clinics at the time of the study, of whom 409 agreed to participate in the study. One hundred and fifty two (37.2%) had a previous history of abuse. Fifty-three women (13.0%) had been abused in the preceding twelve months and 45 (11.0%) during the index pregnancy. Eleven women (2.7%) had been sexually abused in the preceding one year, while 3.4% reported being afraid of their husbands. The risk factors for being the victim of domestic abuse, in descending order of magnitude, were financial problems (17.7%), having only female children (11.1%), unplanned pregnancy (8.8%), unemployment (4.4%) and previous caesarean section (4.4%).


Conclusion:Prevalence of domestic violence was high among Nigerian pregnant women. Routine screening of prenatal women for domestic violence should be introduced during antenatal care.


Key Words: Domestic Violence, Pregnancy, Partners, Screening


[Trop J Obstet Gynaecol, 2003, 20: 116-118]