Past intimate partner violence (IPV) predicts incident IPV during pregnancy and postpartum in pregnant women in Kisumu, Kenya

Objective To investigate how identifying factors associated with peripartum and postpartum intimate partner violence (IPV) may facilitate prioritizing women for psychosocial support. Methods Pregnant women in Kenya were asked about IPV by their current partner at baseline (screening), during pregnancy and at 6 weeks and 6 months postpartum. IPV was defined as being physically hurt or forced to participate in sexual activities or being threatened or frightened by a partner. Results A total of 502 women (11.8% HIV-positive) enrolled during pregnancy and were successfully followed for 6 months postpartum, 430 (85.7%) reported never experiencing IPV, 32 (6.4%) reported IPV at least once in their lifetime but not in the past 6 months, and 31 (6.2%) reported IPV in the past 6 months but not in the past month. During pregnancy and postpartum, 61 (12.2%) reported incident IPV. Women who at baseline reported IPV in the past 6 months were at 2.7-fold higher odds of experiencing IPV peripartum and postpartum (odds ratio 2.77; 95% confidence interval 1.17-6.53; P = 0.020) compared with women who had never experienced IPV. This association remained significant in multivariable analysis. Conclusion Screening for recent IPV during antenatal care visits may be an effective means to identify women at highest risk of IPV and offer targeted prevention interventions.