Domestic violence experienced by pregnant women attending an antenatal clinic at a Soweto Community Health Centre

M.Cur.Abstract: The World Health Organization has established domestic violence (DV) against women as a public health issue, and this issue has been recognised as an increasing health concern worldwide. DV leads to poor health outcomes for both pregnant women and their unborn babies. The study explores and describes the experience of pregnant women attending an antenatal clinic at a Soweto community health centre who experience domestic violence during their pregnancies. A contextual, qualitative, explorative, descriptive research design was used to explore and describe the experiences of pregnant women who are subjected to domestic violence. The findings were conceptualised using literature. A purposive sampling method was used to select a sample of pregnant women who were subjected to domestic violence and who were willing to participate. Individual, semi-structured interviews were used to collect data. The number of pregnant women interviewed at data saturation point was 10. Qualitative data analysis method was used to analyse data. An independent co-coder was involved in data analysis, and this was followed by a consensus discussion meeting between the researcher and the co-coder to finalise the findings. The findings in Phase One include negative experiences of domestic violence, different types of domestic violence, attitude of partners towards pregnancy, the effect of domestic violence on pregnant women, and the need for support. Trustworthiness and ethical considerations were adhered to. Theoretical validity was ensured. The interventions to enable the midwives to support pregnant women subjected to domestic violence, recommendations, limitations, and the conclusion are described