[ABSTRACT]. Objective. To determine predictors associated with
physical violence during
pregnancy , and to determine the relationship between exposure to
intimate partner violence during
pregnancy and
women ’s
health and
suicide ideation in
Guyana .
Methods . A
secondary data analysis of a cross-sectional
household survey . Multivariate
logistic regression models were fitted to the data to estimate the
association between
physical violence during
pregnancy , controlling partner
behavior , and other predictors. Ordered
logistic regression models were fitted to estimate the
association between
physical violence during
pregnancy and
women ’s
health , and lifetime physical partner
violence and
overall health .
Logistic regression models were fitted to estimate
associations between
physical violence during
pregnancy and lifetime physical partner
violence and
overall health and
suicide ideation. Results. The
prevalence of lifetime physical/sexual
intimate partner violence was 38.8%, current physical/sexual
intimate partner violence 11.1%, and
violence during
pregnancy 9.2%. Controlling partner
behavior was significantly and positively associated with maternal experience of
physical violence during
pregnancy . Experiencing physical partner
violence during
pregnancy , but not lifetime physical partner
violence , was associated with significantly increased odds of poor
overall health .
Physical violence during
pregnancy and lifetime
physical violence were both significantly associated with increased odds of
suicide ideation. Conclusions. The
prevalence of
violence during
pregnancy in
Guyana is high and is associated with adverse
health outcomes. These findings suggest the need for
intimate partner violence prevention, and for integrating
intimate partner violence screening and
treatment into
antenatal care ,
reproductive health services , and
maternal and child health programs and services to identify and treat at-
risk women .