Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Meta-Analysis
. 2021 Jan 15;18(2):707.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph18020707.

Prevalence of Intimate Partner Violence in Pregnancy: An Umbrella Review

Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Prevalence of Intimate Partner Violence in Pregnancy: An Umbrella Review

Rosario M Román-Gálvez et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

Background: Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a public health concern, especially during pregnancy, and needs to be urgently addressed. In order to establish effective actions for the prevention of IPV during pregnancy, authorities must be aware of the real burden of IPV. This review aimed to summarize the existing evidence about IPV prevalence during pregnancy worldwide.

Methods: A review of reviews was carried out. All published systematic reviews and meta-analyses published until October 2020 were identified through PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science. The main outcome was the IPV prevalence during pregnancy.

Results: A total of 12 systematic reviews were included in the review, 5 of them including meta-analysis. The quality of the reviews was variable. Physical IPV during pregnancy showed a wide range (1.6-78%), as did psychological IPV (1.8-67.4%).

Conclusions: Available data about IPV prevalence during pregnancy were of low quality and showed high figures for physical and psychological IPV. The existing evidence syntheses do not capture the totality of the worldwide disease burden of IPV in pregnancy.

Keywords: intimate partner violence; pregnancy; prevalence; umbrella review.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
PRISMA flowchart of the study selection process.

References

    1. Dicola D., Spaar E. Intimate partner violence. Am. Fam. Physician. 2016;94:646–651. - PubMed
    1. Committee Opinion No. 518: Intimate Partner Violence. [(accessed on 4 January 2021)];Obstet. Gynecol. 2012 119:412–417. Available online: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22270317/ - PubMed
    1. WHO . Global and Regional Estimates of Violence against Women: Prevalence and Health Effects of Intimate Partner Violence and Non-Partner Sexual Violence. WHO; Geneva, Switzerland: 2013. p. 368.
    1. Halim N., Beard J., Mesic A., Patel A., Henderson D., Hibberd P. Intimate partner violence during pregnancy and perinatal mental disorders in low and lower middle income countries: A systematic review of literature, 1990–2017. Clin. Psychol. Rev. 2018;66:117–135. doi: 10.1016/j.cpr.2017.11.004. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Moraes C.L., Amorim A.R., Reichenheim M.E. Gestational weight gain differentials in the presence of intimate partner violence. Int. J. Gynecol. Obstet. 2006;95:254–260. doi: 10.1016/j.ijgo.2006.08.015. - DOI - PubMed

Publication types