Intimate Partner Violence Around the Time of Pregnancy and Utilization of WIC Services

• Published in: Maternal and child health journal Vol. 23; no. 12; pp. 1648 - 1657
• Main Authors: Masho, Saba W., Rozario, Sylvia S., Ferrance, Jacquelyn L.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.12.2019; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Babies; Birth weight; Childbirth & labor; Children & youth; Childrens health; Chronic illnesses; Cross-Sectional Studies; Domestic violence; Epidemiology; Ethnicity - statistics & numerical data; Families & family life; Female; Food Assistance - statistics & numerical data; Gynecology; Health care; Humans; Hypertension; Infant; Infants; Intimate partner violence; Intimate Partner Violence - ethnology; Intimate Partner Violence - statistics & numerical data; Low income groups; Maternal & child health; Maternal and Child Health; Medicaid; Medical personnel; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Mortality; Nutrition; Participation; Pediatrics; Policy making; Population Economics; Pregnancy; Pregnant Women - psychology; Premature birth; Prenatal Care; Preventive medicine; Public assistance programs; Public Health; Race; Risk assessment; Risk Factors; Socioeconomic Factors; Sociology; Systematic review; Trauma; United States; Women; Womens health; Young Adult; United States; Domestic violence; The supplemental nutrition program for women, infants and children (WIC); Intimate partner violence; Adverse birth outcome; Violence exposure
• ISSN: 1092-7875; 1573-6628
• DOI: 10.1007/s10995-019-02811-7

Objectives Intimate partner violence (IPV) around the time of pregnancy is a risk factor for adverse pregnancy and birth outcomes. The supplemental nutrition program for women, infants, and children (WIC), available to low income pregnant women, may provide an opportunity to identify victims of IPV and refer them to services. This cross-sectional study aims to determine whether WIC participants are more likely than non-WIC participants to have reported IPV before or during pregnancy in the United States. Methods The 2004–2011 National Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) survey (n = 319,689) was analyzed in 2015. Self-reported WIC participation, pre-pregnancy IPV, and IPV during pregnancy were examined. The associations between IPV and WIC participation were analyzed using multiple logistic regression and adjusted odds ratios with corresponding 95% confidence intervals were calculated. Subpopulation analysis was conducted, stratified by race/ethnicity. Results Nearly half of the study sample received WIC (48.1%), approximately 4% of women reported physical abuse 12 months before their most recent pregnancy, and 3% reported abuse during pregnancy. After adjusting for confounders, women who reported IPV before and during pregnancy had significantly higher odds of WIC utilization compared to women who did not report IPV. However, when stratified by race, the association was only significant for non-Hispanic White women (pre-pregnancy AOR 1.47, 95% CI [1.17, 1.85]; during pregnancy AOR 1.47, 95% CI [1.14, 1.88]). Conclusions for Practice There is an association between IPV before and during pregnancy and utilization of WIC. Public health professionals and policy makers should be aware of this association and use this opportunity to screen and address the needs of WIC recipients.