ORIGINAL PAPER Intimate Partner Violence During Pregnancy: Incidence and Associated Health Behaviors in a Rural Population

Abstract Objectives: The goal of this investigation was to examine the prevalence of different types of intimate part-ner violence (IPV) during pregnancy, as well as the asso-ciation between both physical and psychological IPV and negative health behaviors, including smoking, other sub-stance use, inadequate prenatal care utilization, and nutri-tion, in a rural sample. Methods: 104 southern Appalachian women, primarily Caucasian and lower SES, completed a pregnancy interview focused on IPV (CTS2) and health be-haviors. Medical records were also reviewed. Results: 81% of participants reported some type of IPV during the cur-rent pregnancy, with 28 % reporting physical IPV, and 20% reporting sexual violence. More than half were current smok-ers. Physical IPV during pregnancy was associated with sig-nificantly increased rates of pregnancy smoking (including decreased rates of quitting and reducing), increased rates of alcohol, marijuana, and harder illicit drug use around the time of conception, and later entry into prenatal care. The experience of psychological IPV during pregnancy was associated with a significantly decreased likelihood of quit-ting or reducing smoking during pregnancy, an increased rate of alcohol use around the time of conception, and an increased rate of pre-pregnancy obesity. Conclusions: In this sample, pregnancy IPV and smoking occurred at rates well above national averages. Additionally, while physical IPV during pregnancy was associated with several negative pregnancy health behaviors, the experience of psychologi-cal IPV, even in the absence of physical IPV, also placed women at increased risk for negative health behaviors, al