Psychological and Physical/Sexual Intimate Partner Violence Among Pregnant and Postpartum Women: Evidence From a Brazilian National Survey

To investigate if pregnancy/perinatal status (PS) modifies the risk of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV). This cross-sectional study used data from the 2019 Brazilian National Health Survey (PNS), a population-based study. A sample of 26,006 women (18–49 years) answered a questionnaire assessing sociodemographic, reproductive history and IPV (psychological and physical/sexual) in the last 12 months. PS was classified into 3 groups: nulliparous, pregnant or <18 months postpartum, and ≥18 months postpartum. Logistic regression models were used to obtain crude and adjusted Odds Ratios (ORs) and 95% Confidence Intervals (CIs) for the association between PS and IPV category. All analyses were weighted. The prevalence of IPV psychological and physical/sexual was 7.9% (95% CI [7.2, 8.7]) and 3.6% [3.0, 4.3], respectively. PS was significantly associated with psychological IPV. Compared to nulliparous women, those with ≥ 18 months postpartum had a 60% higher chance of experiencing psychological IPV (OR: 1.60, [1.09, 2.36]), while pregnant women or those <18 months postpartum had even higher chances (OR: 1.94, [1.17, 3.23]). In contrast, PS was not significantly associated with physical/sexual IPV. Pregnant and postpartum women had a higher risk of psychological IPV, but not of physical/sexual IPV. Preventive and management strategies for psychological IPV in this group are recommended.