Exposure of Pregnant Women to Violence by Partners and Affecting Factors in Turkey

This study aims to determine the exposure of women to violence by their partners during pregnancy and the factors affecting this condition. The current study conducted as descriptive included a total of 442 pregnant women who were married and at the last trimester of their pregnancy. The data were collected using a semi-structure questionnaire and face to face interview with the pregnant women and were evaluated using descriptive statistics, chi-square test, and logistic regression analysis. Of the pregnant women, 39.8 % experienced at least one type of violence, and the most common type of violence experienced was verbal violence (31.4 %). Among the participants, 18.2 % exposed to violence expressed that their partners perpetrated violence because of jealousy, and 30.1 % reported that they just cried when exposed to violence. According to the results of the logistic regression analysis, insufficient prenatal care increases all types of violence in pregnancy. Working with pregnant women and their partners together under the scope of prenatal care services, and especially planning the attempts to prevent violence by discussing the causes of violence with couples, will facilitate more successful violence prevention programs.