Overlooked impact of less severe physical violence on antenatal care visits: Findings from South Asia
- PMID: 37974495
- PMCID: PMC10654549
- DOI: 10.7189/jogh.13.04155
Overlooked impact of less severe physical violence on antenatal care visits: Findings from South Asia
Abstract
Background: In South Asia, women often experience intimate partner violence (IPV) and have limited access to maternal health services (MHS). However, the effects of IPV on antenatal care (ANC) visits remain unclear. This study aimed to examine the impact of IPV of different forms and severities on ANC visits in South Asia.
Methods: This cross-sectional study used the latest available data from demographic and health surveys conducted in Bangladesh, India, Afghanistan, Nepal, Maldives, and Pakistan. The study sampled 4467 women who had given birth within the past 12 months and were interviewed for IPV. IPV was measured by binary variables indicating the presence of physical violence (PV), categorised into less severe (LSPV) and severe physical violence (SPV), emotional violence (EV), and sexual violence (SV). ANC utilization was measured using binary variables indicating whether respondents had any, at least four, or at least eight ANC visits, as recommended by World Health Organization (WHO). Logistic regressions adjusted for survey weights were used to assess associations between ANC utilization and exposure to IPV during pregnancy and lifetime.
Results: The prevalence of LSPV, SPV, EV, and SV during pregnancy were 14.5%, 4.4%, 11.6%, and 4.1%. LSPV experience during pregnancy was associated with decreased likelihoods of at least four ANC visits (odds ratio (OR) = 0.55; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.40-0.76) and eight ANC visits (OR = 0.53; 95% CI = 0.31-0.90). Results of lifetime exposure to IPV followed similar patterns. Lifetime exposure to LSPV was associated with decreased likelihoods of at least four ANC visits (OR = 0.55; 95% CI = 0.41-0.74) and eight ANC visits (OR = 0.47; 95% CI = 0.29-0.77).
Conclusion: This study highlights the negativities of LSPV on the frequency of women seeking ANC visits. Policies are necessary to identify women at risk of the often-overlooked LSPV early and provide protective interventions to promote maternal health in South Asia.
Copyright © 2023 by the Journal of Global Health. All rights reserved.
Conflict of interest statement
Disclosure of interest: The authors completed the ICMJE Disclosure of Interest Form (available upon request from the corresponding author) and disclose no relevant interests.
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- World Health Organization. Newborn Mortality. 2022. Available: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/levels-and-trends-in-ch.... Accessed: 30 June 2023.
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- UNICEF. Children in South Asia. Available: https://www.unicef.org/rosa/children-south-asia. Accessed: 30 June 2023.
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