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Truth cannot be intimidated into silence.
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than to destroy it.
~Donna Harrison, MD, President, American Association of Pro-life Ob/Gyns
Partner Violence & Pregnancy Outcomes Among Bangladeshi Women (BJOG, Oct2007)
BJOG. 2007 Oct;114(10):1246-52.
Intimate partner violence and unwanted pregnancy, miscarriage,
induced abortion, and stillbirth among a national sample of Bangladeshi
women.
Silverman JG, Gupta J, Decker MR, Kapur N, Raj A.
Department of Society, Human Development and Health, Harvard School
of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
OBJECTIVE: To estimate (1) lifetime prevalence of physical and
sexual victimisation from husbands among a national sample of
Bangladeshi women, (2) associations of unwanted pregnancy and
experiences of husband violence, and (3) associations of miscarriage,
induced abortion, and fetal death/stillbirth and such victimisation.
DESIGN: Cross-sectional, nationally representative study utilizing
matched husband-wife data from the 2004 MEASURE Bangladesh Demographic
Health Survey.
SETTING: Bangladesh.
POPULATION: Married Bangladeshi
women ages 13-40 years old (n = 2677).
METHODS: Bivariate and
multivariate logistic regression analysis.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES:
Relations of intimate partner violence to unwanted pregnancy,
miscarriage, induced abortion and stillbirth.
RESULTS: Three out of
four (75.6%) Bangladeshi women experienced violence from husbands. Less
educated, poorer, and Muslim women were at greatest risk. Women
experiencing violence from husbands were more likely to report both
unwanted pregnancy (ORs(adj) 1.46-1.54) and a pregnancy loss in the
form of miscarriage, induced abortion, or stillbirth (ORs(adj)
1.43-1.69). Assessed individually, miscarriage was more likely among
victimised women (OR(adj) 1.81). A nonsignificant trend was detected
for increased risk of induced abortion (OR(adj) 1.64); stillbirth was
unrelated to violence from husbands.
CONCLUSION: Intimate partner
violence is extremely prevalent and relates to unwanted pregnancy and
higher rates of pregnancy loss or termination, particularly
miscarriages, among Bangladeshi women. Investigation of mechanisms
responsible for these associations will be critical to developing
interventions to improve maternal, fetal, and neonatal health. Such
programmes may be vital to reducing the significant health and social
costs associated with both husband violence and unwanted and adverse
pregnancy outcomes.
PMID: 17877676 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17877676?ordinalpos=1&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_DiscoveryPanel.Pubmed_Discovery_RA&linkpos=5
Abortion 
