The Association between Domestic Violence against Women during Pregnancy and Adverse Clinical Outcomes of Pregnancy in Iran: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Background: Domestic violence against women during pregnancy is a major health problem worldwide. In addition, it affects the mother. Also it can be directly or indirectly associated with serious complications to the health of the fetus. Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between some adverse clinical outcomes of pregnancy and domestic violence against women during pregnancy in Iran via a systematic review and meta-analysis. Methods: This is a systematic review and meta-analysis of the available evidence on domestic violence against women during pregnancies in Iran between 2000 to 2018. International and national databases, including Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed via Medline, Cochrane Library, Science Direct, Google Scholar and Irandoc, Maglran, and SID were searched, and data were independently extracted by two researchers. Random effect meta-analysis was used to conduct analysis, and the Cochran test and meta-regression were also performed by STATA (ver. 14) software. Results: Thirteen studies with a total sample size of 11,818 individuals were included. The findings of this meta-analysis indicated that abortion (OR:6.4, C195%:1.3-31), low birth weight (LBW) (OR: 3.7, CI 95%: 1.7-7.8), preterm delivery (OR: 1.8, CI 95%: 1.2-2.8) and premature rupture of membranes (OR: 4.5, CI 95%: 1.8-11.2) had a significant association with domestic violence against women during pregnancy. Conclusion: Considering the significance of domestic violence on adverseclinical outcomes of pregnancy, our results suggested an urgent need for community supportive cares during pregnancy. Also, effective measures are crucial to prevent domestic violence against women because of their significant role in outcomes of pregnancy.