Intimate Partner Violence Experienced Before Pregnancy and Preconception Health

Experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV) before or during pregnancy is associated with poor pregnancy and birth outcomes. Less is known about the effects of IPV before pregnancy on preconception health and health care.

We analyzed 2016-2022 data from the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System, a population-based surveillance system that collects information about experiences around the time of pregnancy among women with a recent live birth. We estimated, separately, the prevalence of physical and emotional IPV in the 12 months before pregnancy and examined associations with preconception experiences using multivariable logistic regression.

Compared with not experiencing the specific type of IPV, experiencing physical or emotional IPV in the 12 months before pregnancy was associated with higher odds of having a prepregnancy health care visit for depression or anxiety (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 95% confidence interval [CI] physical: 2.73, 2.45-3.06; emotional: 3.17, 2.29-4.41) or for an illness or chronic condition (aOR, 95% CI physical: 1.54, 1.37-1.74; emotional: 2.04, 1.48-2.81). Both IPV types were associated with more than three times the odds of depression, anxiety, and cigarette smoking in the 3 months before pregnancy. Over half of women who experienced physical or emotional IPV in the 12 months before pregnancy subsequently experienced physical or emotional IPV during their pregnancy.

Preventing IPV before pregnancy, through primary prevention and screening with referrals as part of preconception or routine health care, is an important strategy to reduce violence against women and improve maternal and infant health.