Pilot survey of domestic abuse amongst pregnant women attending an antenatal clinic in a public hospital in Gauteng Province in South Africa

Background: violence against women is a major contributor to the ill health of women. It can affect women and may lead to pregnancy complications or adverse birth outcomes. Purpose: to identify and outline domestic abuse amongst pregnant women, thereby providing preliminary data to justify the need for an abuse screening programme in the antenatal clinic. Method: a quantitative, descriptive cross-sectional survey. Data collection was undertaken through purposive sampling of pregnant mothers and the use of questionnaires in the form of structured interviews. Findings: the overall prevalence of domestic abuse amongst pregnant women was 41%. When categorized by type of abuse, the prevalence rates were: emotional abuse, 26%; physical abuse, 17%; both physical and emotional abuse, 5%; and sexual abuse, 9%. Conclusions: there is a high prevalence of domestic abuse amongst pregnant women and there is a need for abuse assessment screening during antenatal care for all pregnant women. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.