DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IN TURKISH PREGNANT WOMEN

İngilizce (OpenAlex)

Violence is a widespread serious public health problem throughout the world. One of the major public health issues faced by pregnant women is domestic violence which threatens the health of mothers and fetuses. This descriptive study was conducted in Sivas University Hospital’s pregnancy clinics. The study population consisted of pregnant women admitted to Sivas University Hospital pregnancy clinics between April 2016 and July 2016. No sample selection method was used; the entire population was intended to reach; thus, the study included 203 pregnant women who met the inclusion criteria for the research and agreed to participate. Of the participating pregnant women, 99% felt confident when they were with their spouses, 8.4% were exposed to emotional abuse, 8.4% were exposed to economic abuse, 5.9% were exposed to verbal abuse, 2.5% were exposed to physical abuse, and 0.5 % were exposed to sexual abuse. The fact that women were exposed to violence before pregnancy and during pregnancy. That is a striking finding. The current study has some limitations. Health-care providers, particularly midwives, should raise their awareness of risk factors, if they are to protect women against domestic violence. Keywords: Pregnancy, Domestic violence, Turkish pregnant women