Prevalence of emotional, physical and sexual abuse among pregnant women in six European countries

Mirjam Lukasse; Anne-Mette Schroll; Elsa Lena Ryding; Jacquelyn Campbell; Helle Karro; Hildur Kristjansdottir; Made Laanpere; Thora Steingrimsdottir; Ann Tabor; Marleen Temmerman; An-Sofie Van Parys; Anne-Marie Wangel; Berit Schei

doi:10.1111/aogs.12392

Prevalence of emotional, physical and sexual abuse among pregnant women in six European countries

Mirjam Lukasse, Anne-Mette Schroll, Elsa Lena Ryding, Jacquelyn Campbell, Helle Karro, Hildur Kristjansdottir, Made Laanpere, Thora Steingrimsdottir, Ann Tabor, Marleen Temmerman, An-Sofie Van Parys, Anne-Marie Wangel, Berit Schei

Department of Clinical Medicine

35 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: The primary objective was to investigate the prevalence of a history of abuse among women attending routine antenatal care in six northern European countries. Second, we explored current suffering from reported abuse.

DESIGN: A prospective cohort study.

SETTING: Routine antenatal care in Belgium, Iceland, Denmark, Estonia, Norway, and Sweden between March 2008 and August 2010.

POPULATION: A total of 7174 pregnant women.

METHODS: A questionnaire including a validated instrument measuring emotional, physical and sexual abuse.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Proportion of women reporting emotional, physical and sexual abuse. Severe current suffering defined as a Visual Analogue Scale score of ≥6.

RESULTS: An overall lifetime prevalence of any abuse was reported by 34.8% of the pregnant women. The ranges across the six countries of lifetime prevalence were 9.7-30.8% for physical abuse, 16.2-27.7% for emotional abuse, and 8.3-21.1% for sexual abuse. Few women reported current sexual abuse, 0.4% compared with 2.2% current physical abuse and 2.7% current emotional abuse. Current severe suffering was reported by 6.8% of the women who reported physical abuse, 9.8% of those who reported sexual abuse and 13.5% for emotional abuse.

CONCLUSION: A high proportion of pregnant women attending routine antenatal care report a history of abuse. About one in ten of them experiences severe current suffering from the reported abuse. In particular, these women might benefit from being identified in the antenatal care setting and being offered specialized care.

Original language	English
Journal	Acta Obstetrica et Gynecologica
Volume	93
Issue number	7
Pages (from-to)	669-677
Number of pages	9
ISSN	0001-6349
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1111/aogs.12392
Publication status	Published - Jul 2014

Keywords

Adult
Belgium
Child
Child Abuse
Cohort Studies
Estonia
Female
Humans
Logistic Models
Pregnancy
Pregnant Women
Prenatal Care
Prevalence
Questionnaires
Scandinavian and Nordic Countries
Sex Offenses
Spouse Abuse

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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Cite this

Lukasse, M., Schroll, A-M., Ryding, E. L., Campbell, J., Karro, H., Kristjansdottir, H., Laanpere, M., Steingrimsdottir, T., Tabor, A., Temmerman, M., Van Parys, A-S., Wangel, A-M., & Schei, B. (2014). Prevalence of emotional, physical and sexual abuse among pregnant women in six European countries. Acta Obstetrica et Gynecologica, 93(7), 669-677. https://doi.org/10.1111/aogs.12392

Lukasse, M, Schroll, A-M, Ryding, EL, Campbell, J, Karro, H, Kristjansdottir, H, Laanpere, M, Steingrimsdottir, T, Tabor, A, Temmerman, M, Van Parys, A-S, Wangel, A-M & Schei, B 2014, 'Prevalence of emotional, physical and sexual abuse among pregnant women in six European countries', Acta Obstetrica et Gynecologica, vol. 93, no. 7, pp. 669-677. https://doi.org/10.1111/aogs.12392

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title = "Prevalence of emotional, physical and sexual abuse among pregnant women in six European countries",

abstract = "OBJECTIVES: The primary objective was to investigate the prevalence of a history of abuse among women attending routine antenatal care in six northern European countries. Second, we explored current suffering from reported abuse.DESIGN: A prospective cohort study.SETTING: Routine antenatal care in Belgium, Iceland, Denmark, Estonia, Norway, and Sweden between March 2008 and August 2010.POPULATION: A total of 7174 pregnant women.METHODS: A questionnaire including a validated instrument measuring emotional, physical and sexual abuse.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Proportion of women reporting emotional, physical and sexual abuse. Severe current suffering defined as a Visual Analogue Scale score of ≥6.RESULTS: An overall lifetime prevalence of any abuse was reported by 34.8% of the pregnant women. The ranges across the six countries of lifetime prevalence were 9.7-30.8% for physical abuse, 16.2-27.7% for emotional abuse, and 8.3-21.1% for sexual abuse. Few women reported current sexual abuse, 0.4% compared with 2.2% current physical abuse and 2.7% current emotional abuse. Current severe suffering was reported by 6.8% of the women who reported physical abuse, 9.8% of those who reported sexual abuse and 13.5% for emotional abuse.CONCLUSION: A high proportion of pregnant women attending routine antenatal care report a history of abuse. About one in ten of them experiences severe current suffering from the reported abuse. In particular, these women might benefit from being identified in the antenatal care setting and being offered specialized care.",

keywords = "Adult, Belgium, Child, Child Abuse, Cohort Studies, Estonia, Female, Humans, Logistic Models, Pregnancy, Pregnant Women, Prenatal Care, Prevalence, Questionnaires, Scandinavian and Nordic Countries, Sex Offenses, Spouse Abuse",

author = "Mirjam Lukasse and Anne-Mette Schroll and Ryding, {Elsa Lena} and Jacquelyn Campbell and Helle Karro and Hildur Kristjansdottir and Made Laanpere and Thora Steingrimsdottir and Ann Tabor and Marleen Temmerman and {Van Parys}, An-Sofie and Anne-Marie Wangel and Berit Schei",

note = "{\textcopyright} 2014 Nordic Federation of Societies of Obstetrics and Gynecology.",

year = "2014",

month = jul,

doi = "10.1111/aogs.12392",

language = "English",

volume = "93",

pages = "669--677",

journal = "Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica",

issn = "0001-6349",

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TY - JOUR

T1 - Prevalence of emotional, physical and sexual abuse among pregnant women in six European countries

AU - Lukasse, Mirjam

AU - Schroll, Anne-Mette

AU - Ryding, Elsa Lena

AU - Campbell, Jacquelyn

AU - Karro, Helle

AU - Kristjansdottir, Hildur

AU - Laanpere, Made

AU - Steingrimsdottir, Thora

AU - Tabor, Ann

AU - Temmerman, Marleen

AU - Van Parys, An-Sofie

AU - Wangel, Anne-Marie

AU - Schei, Berit

PY - 2014/7

Y1 - 2014/7

N2 - OBJECTIVES: The primary objective was to investigate the prevalence of a history of abuse among women attending routine antenatal care in six northern European countries. Second, we explored current suffering from reported abuse.DESIGN: A prospective cohort study.SETTING: Routine antenatal care in Belgium, Iceland, Denmark, Estonia, Norway, and Sweden between March 2008 and August 2010.POPULATION: A total of 7174 pregnant women.METHODS: A questionnaire including a validated instrument measuring emotional, physical and sexual abuse.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Proportion of women reporting emotional, physical and sexual abuse. Severe current suffering defined as a Visual Analogue Scale score of ≥6.RESULTS: An overall lifetime prevalence of any abuse was reported by 34.8% of the pregnant women. The ranges across the six countries of lifetime prevalence were 9.7-30.8% for physical abuse, 16.2-27.7% for emotional abuse, and 8.3-21.1% for sexual abuse. Few women reported current sexual abuse, 0.4% compared with 2.2% current physical abuse and 2.7% current emotional abuse. Current severe suffering was reported by 6.8% of the women who reported physical abuse, 9.8% of those who reported sexual abuse and 13.5% for emotional abuse.CONCLUSION: A high proportion of pregnant women attending routine antenatal care report a history of abuse. About one in ten of them experiences severe current suffering from the reported abuse. In particular, these women might benefit from being identified in the antenatal care setting and being offered specialized care.

AB - OBJECTIVES: The primary objective was to investigate the prevalence of a history of abuse among women attending routine antenatal care in six northern European countries. Second, we explored current suffering from reported abuse.DESIGN: A prospective cohort study.SETTING: Routine antenatal care in Belgium, Iceland, Denmark, Estonia, Norway, and Sweden between March 2008 and August 2010.POPULATION: A total of 7174 pregnant women.METHODS: A questionnaire including a validated instrument measuring emotional, physical and sexual abuse.MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Proportion of women reporting emotional, physical and sexual abuse. Severe current suffering defined as a Visual Analogue Scale score of ≥6.RESULTS: An overall lifetime prevalence of any abuse was reported by 34.8% of the pregnant women. The ranges across the six countries of lifetime prevalence were 9.7-30.8% for physical abuse, 16.2-27.7% for emotional abuse, and 8.3-21.1% for sexual abuse. Few women reported current sexual abuse, 0.4% compared with 2.2% current physical abuse and 2.7% current emotional abuse. Current severe suffering was reported by 6.8% of the women who reported physical abuse, 9.8% of those who reported sexual abuse and 13.5% for emotional abuse.CONCLUSION: A high proportion of pregnant women attending routine antenatal care report a history of abuse. About one in ten of them experiences severe current suffering from the reported abuse. In particular, these women might benefit from being identified in the antenatal care setting and being offered specialized care.

KW - Adult

KW - Belgium

KW - Child

KW - Child Abuse

KW - Cohort Studies

KW - Estonia

KW - Female

KW - Humans

KW - Logistic Models

KW - Pregnancy

KW - Pregnant Women

KW - Prenatal Care

KW - Prevalence

KW - Questionnaires

KW - Scandinavian and Nordic Countries

KW - Sex Offenses

KW - Spouse Abuse

U2 - 10.1111/aogs.12392

DO - 10.1111/aogs.12392

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 24720803

SN - 0001-6349

VL - 93

SP - 669

EP - 677

JO - Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica

JF - Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica

IS - 7

ER -

Prevalence of emotional, physical and sexual abuse among pregnant women in six European countries

Abstract

Keywords

UN SDGs

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