Abused pregnant women at risk of preterm birth (Reuters)
Posted by admin
The tools and materials suggest that obstetricians should routinely ask women about domestic violence, they note in a report in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology.
The study included 2,660 Portuguese women who were interviewed shortly after giving birth between 1999 and 2000. Of the 217 woman (try women’s health) who delivered prematurely, one-quarter acknowledged that they had ever been hit, slapped, kicked or otherwise physically abused — usually by their participant.
That compared with 8 percent of women whose pregnancies had gone to term.
In Portugal, as in many countries, gravid women are not routinely screened for domestic abuse, note the researchers, led by Dr. Teresa Rodrigues of the University of Porto Medical School.
However, they say, the new findings suggest that abuse should be considered a risk factor for preterm birth, and that doctors should ask pregnant about it.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends that obstetricians routinely screen pregnant women for domestic abuse. But at least one survey has set that many doctors don't ask those questions, though they are more likely to when they suspect abuse.
According to Rodrigues and her colleagues, material abuse may sometimes lead to preterm delivery directly, from trauma to the abdominal superficial contents, for instance. But severe psychological suffering may be a signifying factor as well.
Such stress (relief) may cause hormonal changes that contribute to preterm delivery, the researchers explain. On the other hand, abused pregnant women may be more likely to drink, smoke or use illegal drugs, all of which could call up the risk of premature birth.
SOURCE: American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology, February 2008.
Leave a Reply