Prevalence of physical intimate partner violence in the first six months after childbirth in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The aim of the study was to estimate the prevalence of physical intimate partner violence in the first six months after childbirth among women attending primary care clinics (UBS) for the infant's follow-up in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This is the first study on the theme using a representative sample of primary care clinics in the city of Rio de Janeiro. The study used a cross-sectional design from June to September 2007 and included 927 mothers/infants seen at 27 UBS, selected by complex sampling, geographically representative of the city. The information was collected in face-to-face interviews by a previously trained team, using a structured questionnaire. History of physical intimate partner violence from the child's birth to the date of the interview was obtained with the Brazilian version of the Revised Conflict Tactics Scales (CTS2). Thirty percent (95%CI: 26.2-33.8) of mothers reported having experienced some form of physical intimate partner violence in the postpartum and 14% (95%CI: 11.0-17.0) reported severe physical violence. The physical abuse occurred especially among black teenage mothres, in unfavorable socioeconomic situation, that did not live with the partner and that had received inadequate or no prenatal care and reported difficulties in breastfeeding and use of healthcare services. The widespread occurrence of physical intimate partner violence emphasizes the urgent need to deal with the problem. Primary healthcare services must be linked to other support networks and health professionals need to be prepared to deal with the problem.