Family and clinical indicators of domestic violence among pregnant women in Ilorin, North-Central Nigeria

INTRODUCTION: domestic violence affects one in four families and has significant health consequences on sufferers. When it occurs among pregnant women, it can be associated with pregnancy-related complications. There is dearth of data on the association between certain family and clinical factors of pregnant women, and domestic violence in Nigeria. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence and pattern of domestic violence and its association with certain clinical factors and family functioning of pregnant women attending the antenatal clinic at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, Ilorin, North-Central Nigeria. METHODS: a total of 333 respondents were recruited for the cross-sectional study between June and August, 2017 using systematic sampling technique. Structured questionnaires were used to obtain information about domestic violence and family functioning among the study participants. Blood pressure, urinalysis and packed cell volume of respondents were obtained following standard procedures. Data were analyzed using SPSS-20 and Chi-square was used to identify significant risk factors for domestic violence among the study subjects. RESULTS: the results of this study showed that the prevalence of domestic violence among the study population was 34.5%. The most common form of violence in this study was psychological aggression (74.8%), followed by sexual coercion (47.8%), then physical assault (14.8%) and physical assault with injury (3.5%). There was a statistically significant association between domestic violence and; 1) family dysfunction p<0.001); 2) anaemia (p<0.001). CONCLUSION: pregnant women presenting with anaemia as well as those from dysfunctional families are particularly at high risk of domestic violence and as such, special attention should be drawn to these factors with a view to screen and identify victims of abuse during routine antenatal clinic visits.