Adverse birth outcomes among women exposed to intimate partner violence in pregnancy in Ikere-Ekiti, South-west Nigeria: A prospective cohort study.

OBJECTIVE

Studies on birth outcomes associated with intimate partner violence in pregnancy in Nigeria are scarce. We aimed to evaluate adverse birth outcomes among women exposed to intimate partner violence in pregnancy in a Nigerian population.

STUDY DESIGN

We performed a prospective cohort study involving 363 women with singleton pregnancies presenting for antenatal care between March 2019 and September 2019. Intimate partner violence was assessed with a validated self-administered questionnaire- ongoing abuse screen. We compared adverse birth outcomes between women that experienced intimate partner violence in pregnancy and those that did not. Multivariate logistic regression was used to adjust for confounders.

RESULTS

Of the 363 pregnant women that completed the study, 56(15.4%) experienced intimate partner violence in pregnancy. Women who experienced intimate partner violence in pregnancy were significantly more likely to experience composite adverse birth outcome (53.6% compared with 20.2%,adjusted OR 4.72, 95% CI: 2.43-9.19, p < 0.001) preterm delivery (26.8% compared with 13.4%,adjusted OR 2.96, 95% CI: 1.34-6.50, p = 0.007), stillbirths(17.9% compared with 3.3%,adjusted OR 9.52, 95% CI: 3.96-22.90, p < 0.001) and neonatal intensive care unit admission (32.1% compared with 19.9%, adjusted OR 1.93, 95% CI: 1.19-10.60, p = 0.03). Mode of delivery and low birth weight did not differ significantly between the two groups.

CONCLUSION

Intimate partner violence is associated with increased risk of preterm delivery, stillbirth and neonatal intensive care unit admission. There is a need to evaluate the effect of interventions on these adverse birth outcomes.