Intimate partner violence and pregnancy during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in psychological sequelae in different populations, especially female victims of intimate partner violence (IPV) who are pregnant. Nonetheless, little is known about how IPV events and pregnancy are related to mental health outcomes for pregnant women during the pandemic, when this research took place. 155 pregnant women (82 primigravidas and 73 multigravidas women) were assessed using questionnaires for mental health status and IPV events. The results showed that primigravida women were less likely to experience intimate partner violence than multigravida women. Further, first time pregnancy was not related to symptoms of psychopathology nor perceived stress, even after controlling for the potential effect of IPV. In contrast, IPV was related to all measures of psychopathology, except for pregnancy-specific stress. The results provide information about the relationship of IPV, pregnancy and psychopathology during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, due to the study design (part of awider study), it is not yet possible to examine how IPV patterns with respect to pregnancy may have changed in response to the pandemic. In light of the relationship between IPV and mental health during the pandemic, assessment of IPV appears to be an important component in health assessments of pregnant women.