Association between Intimate Partner Violence and Mental Health Status During Pregnancy: A Survey among Pregnant Women in Calabar, Nigeria

Human pregnancy should be a safe and rewarding physiological process. However, violence-mediateddistress may contribute to adverse fetomaternal effects. This study aimed at assessing relationship betweenintimate partner violence (IPV) and mental health status of pregnant women in Calabar, Nigeria. CompositeAbuse Scale and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale questionnaires were used to assess IPV and anxietyand depression, respectively. Of 250 respondents surveyed randomly, 54.8% had at least one of the three typesof abuse within the last 12 months, with common combination being psychological abuse only (16.4%), allthree types of abuse (15.6%), and psychological and sexual abuse (10.8%). Anxiety and/or depression whichwas found in 48.0%, was more prevalent among respondents that suffered psychological (57.0% vs. 38.5%),sexual (64.4% vs. 41.2%), and physical (64.2% vs. 42.1%) types of abuse (p<0.05). Findings suggest needto redouble effort at integration of gender into reproductive health in developing countries.