Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 14, 2025
Using a Murine Model of Psychosocial Stress in Pregnancy as a Translationally Relevant Paradigm for Psychiatric Disorders in Mothers and Infants
Published on: June 13, 2021
Risk of adverse perinatal outcomes with violence in pregnancy
Sarena Hayer1, Rachel E Mnuk2, Bharti Garg2
1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Oregon Health & Science University, 3181 SW Sam Jackson Park Road, Mail Code L-466, Portland, OR, 97239, USA. hayer@ohsu.edu.
Purpose:
To examine the association between physical, sexual, or physiological harm in pregnancy and perinatal outcomes in a large, contemporary birth cohort.
Methods:
This retrospective cohort study used California-linked vital statistics and hospital discharge data from 2016 to 2020. We included singleton, non-anomalous births with a gestational age of 23-42 weeks. Violence in pregnancy was identified using International Classification of Disease, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes. Chi-square tests and multivariable Poisson regression models were used to evaluate associations of violence in pregnancy with perinatal outcomes.
Results:
A total of 1,728,478 pregnancies met inclusion criteria, of which 3,457 (0.2%) had reported violence in pregnancy. Compared to those without violence in pregnancy, individuals who experienced violence had an increased risk of non-severe hypertensive disorders (aRR = 1.36, 95% CI 1.22, 1.51), preeclampsia with severe features (aRR = 1.34; 95% CI 1.11, 1.61), chorioamnionitis (aRR = 1.68; 95% CI 1.48, 1.91), anemia (aRR = 1.59; 95% CI 1.50, 1.68), antepartum hemorrhage (aRR = 2.17; 95% CI 1.19, 3.95), and postpartum hemorrhage (aRR = 1.65; 95% CI 1.48, 1.85). Violence in pregnancy was also associated with increased risk of Apgar score < 7 at 5 min (aRR = 1.37; 95% CI 1.11, 1.71) and neonatal hypoglycemia (aRR = 1.26; 95% CI 1.07, 1.48).
Conclusion:
Violence experienced in pregnancy is associated with an increased risk of adverse perinatal outcomes. Understanding how universal screening and early recognition of violence in pregnancy may reduce disparities in maternal morbidity for this understudied population is critical.
