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Abstract:
The World Health Organization (WHO), along with other health organizations, has declared the prevalence of domestic violence to be a serious global health concern needing more attention to promote healthier outcomes for mothers and children following birth. Even with the encouragement of the WHO, and with the convenience of private health treatment rooms, few health providers have conducted assessments for domestic violence. Finally, this article addresses the important role childbirth educators can play in assessing and educating expectant parents about the implications of domestic violence and pregnancy, and provides information for the process.
Keywords: domestic violence, pregnancy, abuse, childbirth educators
Introduction
Pregnancy is a time of new life and of new beginnings for two people in a relationship. When domestic violence is an added factor, then pregnancy can be a further complication for the woman carrying a child. Health care providers, including childbirth educators in contact with the prospective mother, have the opportunity to assess mothers for the possibility of domestic violence occurring in their relationship. These may be the only opportunities a mother has of safely voicing the dilemma she and her unborn child are in. It may also lead to her only chance of escaping her or her unborn child's death sentence. Pregnant women and their unborn infants are vulnerable populations who should be treated as such, yet some reports show that death rates among pregnant women have escalated in recent years (Clements, Holt, Hasson, & Fay-Hillier, 201 1).
Background Information on Domestic Violence
Domestic violence, also termed intimate partner violence (IPV), has existed since the dawn of man. Its occurrence is more acceptable in some countries than it is in others. Domestic violence is commonly described as the occurrence or threat of physical, verbal, or sexual abuse, as well as emotional and psychological abuse by a spouse or intimate partner (McMahon & Armstrong, 2012). Domestic violence occurs before, during and after pregnancy but has been observed to occur more often during the vulnerable time of pregnancy (Adesina, Oyugbo, & Olubukola, 201 1; O'Reilly, 2007). During pregnancy, domestic violence can become particularly dangerous and devastating, causing premature birth, serious injury or death to the baby, while also causing detriment to the mother's mental and physical health (Keeling, 2012; Manzolli et al.,...