The lowest rate was reported by women attending a private clinic and responding to a self-administered questionnaire. The authors concluded that despite the limitations of the studies, there was a reason to believe that violence may be a more common problem for pregnant women than preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, or placenta previa, conditions for which pregnant women are routinely screened and evaluated. When a pregnant woman is subjected to violence, it is certainly a threat to her own health, but it also puts the fetus at risk. Several studies have demonstrated that physical abuse is associated with a range of adverse perinatal outcomes, such as premature births and low birth weight. A woman's ability to protect herself and her unborn baby is limited by the abuser.
Abused women report alcohol and drug abuse, cigarette smoking, and insufficient nourishment.
These factors might also influence the health of the unborn child. Psychological problems and thoughts of suicide are prevalent among pregnant women who are abused. General considerations Violence is a painful side of women's lives which is hard to face. It is important to bear in mind that overlooking abuse might lead to a poor quality of diagnosis and evaluation in our daily work. In order to increase our knowledge and skills in this area all physicians studying obstetrics gynaecology should be offered postgraduate training.