AB0867-HPR VIOLENCE IN PREGNANT AND POSTPARTUM MEXICAN WOMEN WITH AUTOIMMUNE RHEUMATIC DISEASES
Authors: Espinosa Banuelos L. G. , Corral Trujillo M. E. , Skinner Taylor C. M. , Pérez Barbosa L. , Lujano Negrete A. Y. , Rodriguez Chavez R. A. , Moyeda Martinez R. , Cárdenas A. , Galarza-Delgado D. Á. 
Published: May 2021

Background:

Gender violence is a prevalent issue worldwide. In Mexico, four out of ten women suffer any kind of violence. The factors that make women even more vulnerable to domestic violence are pregnancy, socioeconomic status, educational level, and the presence of chronic health problems. Violence represents a major risk factor for depression, anxiety, poor adherence to medical treatment, and obstetric adverse events.

Objectives:

The aim of this study is to determine the frequency of domestic violence in pregnant and postpartum women with autoimmune rheumatic diseases (ARD) and to compare with childbearing age women with ARD.

Methods:

Pregnant and postpartum women (PPW) with rheumatic disease evaluated at the Pregnancy and Rheumatic Diseases Clinic from the University Hospital “Dr. José E. González” in Monterrey, México from August to October 2020 were invited to participate. To compare, we enrolled childbearing age women with ARD without previous pregnancies. The Spanish validated version of the Hurt, Insulted, Threatened with Harm, Screamed scale (HITS) was applied via telephonic interview. The HITS scale evaluates in 4 questions the presence and frequency of violence by their intimate partners in the last 12 months. A score ≥ 10 points is considered as positive for violence.

Results:

A total of 48 women were included, 24 patients each group. The pregnant-postpartum group was divided in 6 (25) pregnant and 18 (75) postpartum women. Most of them were housewives (54.1%) with >10 years of education and with not formalized marital status 41% (common-law marriage). In the childbearing age group, most of them were employees (70.8), with >10 years of education with a current marital status of single (66.6%). The HITS scale was positive in the pregnant-postpartum group in 4 women (16.6%). Two of them had been victims of sexual assault and 2 reported physical/verbal violence. While in childbearing age group only 1 (4.16) reported physical/verbal violence.

Conclusion:

The 16% of the pregnant-postpartum group in our sample were suffering from domestic violence by their intimate partners, in contrast to the childbearing age group with only 1 patient reported violence. We found that postpartum and pregnancy women had more prevalence of violence. Screening for domestic violence followed by counseling and early referral are necessary to mitigate the physical and psychological consequences of domestic violence.

References:

Moreira DN, Pinto da Costa M. The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic in the precipitation of intimate partner violence. Int J Law Psychiatry. 2020;71:101606. doi:10.1016/j.ijlp.2020.101606.

Jackson CL, Ciciolla L, Crnic KA, Luecken LJ, Gonzales NA, Coonrod DV. Intimate partner violence before and during pregnancy: related demographic and psychosocial factors and postpartum depressive symptoms among Mexican American women. J Interpers Violence. 2015;30(4):659-679. doi:10.1177/0886260514535262.

Table 1.

Sociodemographic characteristics and scale results

Postpartum and pregnancy women
n= 24Childbearing age women
n= 24Age, years, mean27.527.08Occupation, n (%)Housewive13 (54.1)5 (20.8)Employee7 (29.1)17 (70.8)Student4 (16.6)2 (8.3)Education years, n (%)Less than 10 years11 (45.8)7 (29.1)More than 10 years13 (54.1)17 (70.8)Marital status, n (%)Common-law marriage10 (41.6)-Married8 (33.3)8 (33.3)Single6 (24.9)16 (66.6)Status, n (%)Postpartum18 (75)-Pregnancy6 (25)-Results of the HITS scale
Total, mean5.374.37Score per ranges, n (%)0 – 9 points20 (83.3)23 (95.8)10 – 20 points4 (16.6)1 (4.1)

Disclosure of Interests:

None declared