Effects of domestic violence on perinatal and early childhood mortality: Evidence from North India

Objective. We examined the effect of physical violence during pregnancy on perinatal and early-childhood mortality. Methods. We estimated the prevalence of domestic violence during pregnancy among a population-based sample of 2199 women in Uttar Pradesh, India. We used a survival regression model to examine the risks for perinatal, neonatal, postneonatal, and early-childhood (aged 1-3 years) mortality by mother's exposure to domestic violence, after we controlled for other sociodemographic and maternal health behavior risk factors. Results. Eighteen percent of the women in our study experienced domestic violence during their last pregnancy. After we adjusted for other risk factors, births among mothers who had experienced domestic violence had risks for perinatal and neonatal mortality that were 2.59 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.35, 4.95) and 2.37 (95% CI = 1.21, 4.62) times higher, respectively, than births among mothers who had not experienced violence. We found no significant associations between domestic violence and either postneonatal or early-childhood mortality. Conclusions. Domestic violence is a significant risk factor for perinatal and neonatal mortality.