Intimate partner physical violence and inadequate weight gain in pregnancy

cross-sectional study composed of 554 women who attended four Basic Health Units in the city of Rio de Janeiro between 2005 and 2009. The GWG was calculated through the difference between the final weight of pregnancy and pre-gestational weight. For the measurement of IPPV, the Portuguese version of the Conflict Tactics Scales (CTS-1) was used. Data analysis was based on multinomial logistic regression models, estimating odds ratios and respective 95% confidence intervals for associations between the variables of interest.

Results:

the prevalence of minor and severe IPPV was 31.6% and 16.3%, respectively. Almost two-thirds of the women had insufficient or excessive GWG. After adjusting the model, it was observed that the presence of IPPV increased by 1.66 (CI95%=1.05-2.64) times the chances of insufficient GWG, compared to couples who did not experience this type of violence. Concerning the excessive GWG, the associations with IPPV were not statistically significant.

Conclusion:

women who experience IPPV in their relationships are more likely to have insufficient GWG during pregnancy. From this perspective, prenatal care becomes an essential service for screening domestic violence and its possible repercussions.

Key words
Weight gain; Pregnancy; Intimate partner violence

Variables	N	%	CI95%
Woman’s age (years)
<20	136	24.6	21.2-28.4
20-34	359	65.0	60.9-68.9
≥35	57	10.4	8.0-13.2
Woman’s schooling(years of schooling)
<4	25	4.6	3.1- 6.6
≥4	525	95.4	93.4-96.9
Environmental conditions of residence
Adequate	397	76.5	72.6-80.0
Inadequate	122	23.5	20.0-27.4
Number of children alive
Primiparous	277	50.0	45.8-54.2
Multiparous (2 to 4 children)	260	46.9	42.8-51.1
Great multiparous (≥5 children)	17	3.1	1.9-4.9
Prenatal
Yes	553	99.8	98.7-100.0
No	1	0.2	0.2-12.8
Pre-gestational nutritional status
Low weight	34	6.1	4.4-8.5
Eutrophic	342	61.7	57.6-65.7
Overweight	114	20.6	17.4-24.2
Obesity	64	11.6	9.1-14.5
Gestational weight gain
Insufficient	177	31.9	28.2-36.0
Adequate	192	34.7	30.8-38.7
Excessive	185	33.4	29.6-37.4
Physical violence between intimate partners minor
Yes	175	31.6	64.4-72.2
No	379	68.4	27.8-35.6
Physical violence between intimate partners severe
Yes	90	16.3	80.4-86.6
No	464	83.7	13.4-19.6

IPV during pregnancy	Insufficient GWH				Excessive GWG
	Crude		Adjusted^* * Analyses were adjusted for demographic, socioeconomic and reproductive variables (maternal age, maternal schooling, environmental conditions of residence and number of children alive).		Crude		Adjusted^* * Analyses were adjusted for demographic, socioeconomic and reproductive variables (maternal age, maternal schooling, environmental conditions of residence and number of children alive).
	OR (CI95%)	p	OR (CI95%)	p	OR (CI95%)	p	OR (CI95%)	p
IPPV minor	1.55 (1.01-2.40)	0.047	1.62 (1.02-2.58)	0.042	0.97 (.62-1.52)	0.908	1.05 (.65-1.69)	0.845
IPPV severe	1.29 (.74-2.25)	0.910	1.39 (.76-2.52)	0.278	1.13 (.65-1.98)	0.661	1.25 (.68-2.29)	0.470

Instituto de Medicina Integral Prof. Fernando Figueira Rua dos Coelhos, 300. Boa Vista, 50070-550 Recife PE Brasil, Tel./Fax: +55 81 2122-4141 - Recife - PR - Brazil
E-mail: revista@imip.org.br

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[1] Associated Editor: Aurélio Costa