Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Family Violence and Maltreatment of Women During the Perinatal Period: Associations with Infant Morbidity in Indian Slum Communities

  • Published:
Maternal and Child Health Journal Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Objectives

To determine the prevalence of non-violent, gender-based forms of maltreatment of women by husbands and in-laws [i.e., gender-based household maltreatment (GBHM)] during pregnancy and postpartum; to clarify the role of GBHM in compromising infant health, and whether this role extends beyond that previously observed for intimate partner violence (IPV).

Methods

Cross-sectional, quantitative data were collected from women (ages 15–35) seeking immunizations for their infants <6 months of age (N = 1061) in urban health centers in Mumbai, India. Logistic regression models were constructed to assess associations between maternal abuse (perinatal IPV, in-law violence and GBHM) and recent infant morbidity (diarrhea, respiratory distress, fever, colic and vomiting).

Results

More than one in four women (28.4 %) reported IPV during their recent pregnancy and/or during the postpartum period, 2.6 % reported perinatal violence from in-laws, and 49.0 % reported one or more forms of perinatal GBHM. In adjusted regression models that included all forms of family violence and maltreatment, perinatal GBHM remained significantly associated with infant morbidity (AORs 1.4–1.9); perinatal IPV and in-law violence ceased to predict infant morbidity in models including GBHM.

Conclusions

Findings indicate that non-violent expressions of gender inequity (e.g., nutritional deprivation, deprivation of sleep, blocking access to health care during pregnancy) are more strongly associated with poor infant health than physical or sexual violence from husbands or in-laws in urban India. These results strongly suggest the need to expand the conception of gender inequities beyond IPV to include non-violent forms of gendered mistreatment in considering their impact on infant health.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. UNICEF. (2013). Levels & trends in child mortality. New York: United Nations.

  2. Raj, A., McDougal, L., & Rusch, M. L. (2014). Effects of young maternal age and short interpregnancy interval on infant mortality in South Asia. International Journal of Gynaecology and Obstetrics: The Official Organ of the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics, 124(1), 86–87.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Ackerson, L. K., & Subramanian, S. V. (2008). Domestic violence and chronic malnutrition among women and children in India. American Journal of Epidemiology, 167(10), 1188–1196.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  4. Silverman, J. G., Decker, M. R., Gupta, J., Kapur, N., Raj, A., & Naved, R. T. (2009). Maternal experiences of intimate partner violence and child morbidity in Bangladesh: Evidence from a national Bangladeshi sample. Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, 163(8), 700–705.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  5. Karamagi, C. A., Tumwine, J. K., Tylleskar, T., & Heggenhougen, K. (2007). Intimate partner violence and infant morbidity: Evidence of an association from a population-based study in eastern Uganda in 2003. BMC Pediatrics, 7, 34.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  6. Ackerson, L. K., & Subramanian, S. V. (2009). Intimate partner violence and death among infants and children in India. Pediatrics, 124(5), e878–e889.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Ahmed, S., Koenig, M. A., & Stephenson, R. (2006). Effects of domestic violence on perinatal and early-childhood mortality: Evidence from north India. American Journal of Public Health, 96(8), 1423–1428.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  8. Silverman, J. G., Decker, M. R., Cheng, D. M., et al. (2011). Gender-based disparities in infant and child mortality based on maternal exposure to spousal violence: The heavy burden borne by Indian girls. Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, 165(1), 22–27.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  9. Silverman, J. G., Decker, M. R., Saggurti, N., Balaiah, D., & Raj, A. (2008). Intimate partner violence and HIV infection among married Indian women. The Journal of the American Medical Association, 300(6), 703–710.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Koski, A. D., Stephenson, R., & Koenig, M. R. (2011). Physical violence by partner during pregnancy and use of prenatal care in rural India. Journal of Health, Population and Nutrition, 29(3), 245–254.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Chambliss, L. R. (2008). Intimate partner violence and its implication for pregnancy. Clinical Obstetrics and Gynecology, 51(2), 385–397.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Dietz, P. M., Gazmararian, J. A., Goodwin, M. M., Bruce, F. C., Johnson, C. H., & Rochat, R. W. (1997). Delayed entry into prenatal care: Effect of physical violence. Obstetrics and Gynecology, 90(2), 221–224.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Sarkar, N. N. (2008). The impact of intimate partner violence on women’s reproductive health and pregnancy outcome. Journal of obstetrics and gynaecology : The journal of the Institute of Obstetrics and Gynaecology., 28(3), 266–271.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Lau, Y., & Chan, K. S. (2007). Influence of intimate partner violence during pregnancy and early postpartum depressive symptoms on breastfeeding among chinese women in Hong Kong. Journal of midwifery and Women’s Health, 52(2), e15–e20.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Chan, K. L. (2011). Children exposed to child maltreatment and intimate partner violence: A study of co-occurrence among Hong Kong Chinese families. Child Abuse and Neglect, 35(7), 532–542.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Raj, A., Livramento, K. N., Santana, M. C., Gupta, J., & Silverman, J. G. (2006). Victims of intimate partner violence more likely to report abuse from in-laws. Violence Against Women, 12(10), 936–949.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Raj, A., Sabarwal, S., Decker, M. R., et al. (2011). Abuse from in-laws during pregnancy and post-partum: Qualitative and quantitative findings from low-income mothers of infants in Mumbai, India. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 15(6), 700–712.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Sharma, B., Mahajan, H., & Velhal, G. D. (2013). Immunization coverage: Role of sociodemographic variables. Advances in Preventive Medicine, 2013, 607935.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  19. National Family Health Survey India. (2005). NFHS-2. Mumbai: International Institute for Population Science.

    Google Scholar 

  20. DHS. Demographic and health surveys. Accessed August 21, 2012 from http://www.measuredhs.com/.

  21. Akhnikh, S., Engelberts, A. C., van Sleuwen, B. E., L’Hoir, M. P., & Benninga, M. A. (2014). The excessively crying infant: Etiology and treatment. Pediatric Annals, 43(4), e69–e75.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. Garg, P. (2004). Infantile colic—Unfolded. Indian Journal of Pediatrics, 71(10), 903–906.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The current study was funded by the US National Institutes of Health and the Indian Council on Medical Research Indo-US Program on Maternal and Child Health and Human Development (R03HD055120-01; Silverman and Balaiah PIs), and the U.S. National Institute on Child Health and Development (R01HD061115-01; Raj PI).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Global Public Health, Center on Gender Equity and Health, School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego (UCSD), 9500 Gilman Drive #0507, La Jolla, CA, 92093-0507, USA

    Jay G. Silverman, Sabrina C. Boyce, Julie Ritter & Anita Raj

  2. Division of Global Public Health, Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA

    Jay G. Silverman, Sabrina C. Boyce & Anita Raj

  3. National Institute for Research on Reproductive Health, Indian Council on Medical Research, Mumbai, India

    Donta Balaiah, D. D. Naik & Saritha Nair

  4. Department of Population, Family and Reproductive Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Michele R. Decker

  5. Population Council, New Delhi, India

    Niranjan Saggurti

Authors
  1. Jay G. Silverman
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Donta Balaiah
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Michele R. Decker
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Sabrina C. Boyce
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Julie Ritter
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. D. D. Naik
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Saritha Nair
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Niranjan Saggurti
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  9. Anita Raj
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jay G. Silverman.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Silverman, J.G., Balaiah, D., Decker, M.R. et al. Family Violence and Maltreatment of Women During the Perinatal Period: Associations with Infant Morbidity in Indian Slum Communities. Matern Child Health J 20, 149–157 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-015-1814-y

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-015-1814-y

Keywords

Search

Navigation