Intimate Partner Violence during Pregnancy and 1-Year Post-Partum

Pajarita Charles, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Using data on a nationally representative cohort of pregnant women in U.S. cities, this study examines the prevalence and correlates of interpersonal violence (IPV) – physical, emotional, and coercion-control -- during pregnancy and one year after birth. Overall, 33% of mothers and 40% of fathers experience some form of IPV during or after pregnancy. Hispanic women and those no longer romantically involved with their children’s fathers were most likely to experience IPV during pregnancy. Less educated women, women who reported that they or their spouses used substances (i.e. alcohol or illicit drugs), and women who reported that their pregnancy was unwanted were at high risk of IPV both during and after their pregnancy. Violence during pregnancy strongly predicted violence after pregnancy. U.S.-born women who were employed during their pregnancy were the most likely to have left an abusive relationship one-year post-partum.