Skip to main content
Key Specialties
Cardiology Diabetology Endocrinology Gastroenterology Geriatrics and Gerontology Gynecology and Obstetrics Hematology Infectious Disease Internal Medicine Nephrology Neurology Oncology Pediatrics Respiratory Medicine Rheumatology Surgery
Congress Coverage
2024 ACC Congress 2023 ESMO Congress 2023 EASD Congress 2023 ERS Congress 2023 ESC Congress 2023 EHA Congress 2023 ASCO Annual Meeting
Clinical Collections
Advances in Alzheimer’s

At a glance: The ONWARDS insulin icodec trials

A round-up of the ONWARDS phase 3 clinical trials evaluating the novel weekly insulin icodec in people with diabetes.
ADVANCED SEARCH
Log in
Top
BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
Published in: BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth 1/2017

Open Access 01-12-2017 | Research article

‘It is a difficult topic’ – a qualitative study of midwives´ experiences with routine antenatal enquiry for intimate partner violence

Authors: L. Henriksen, L.M Garnweidner-Holme, K.K Thorsteinsen, M. Lukasse

Published in: BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth | Issue 1/2017

Login to get access

Abstract

Background

Intimate partner violence (IPV) during pregnancy may jeopardize maternal and fetal health (IJFWM 49:159-164, 2004; IJGO 133:269-276, 2016). In recognition of the significant public health impact of IPV, the Norwegian Directorate of Health issued new guidelines in 2014, which recommend that health professionals routinely ask all women in antenatal care about their exposure to violence. The objective of this study was to gain an in-depth understanding of midwives’ experiences with routine enquiry for intimate partner violence during the antenatal period.

Methods

The study had a qualitative design. Individual semi-structured interviews with eight midwives providing antenatal care at eight Mother and Child Health Centres (MCHC) in Norway were conducted. Graneheim and Lundmans method of content analysis inspired the analysis.

Results

Three main themes emerged: Midwives do ask about violence; It can be a challenge; and Factors that make it easier to ask. All midwives enquired, but not on a regular basis, about violence. The midwives’ personal interest in the topic was an important factor that made it easier for them to ask about violence. Lack of time, fear of not knowing how to deal with a positive answer and lack of organizational support were barriers to asking pregnant women about their experiences of violence.

Conclusion

Midwives were aware of the guidelines and made some efforts to implement them. However, further education and organisational support is needed to enable midwives to routinely ask all pregnant women about IVP.
Appendix
Available only for authorised users
Literature
1.
Boy A, Salihu HM. Intimate partner violence and birth outcomes: a systematic review. Int J Fertil Womens med. 2004;49(4):159–64.PubMed
2.
Hill A, Pallitto C, McCleary-Sills J, Garcia-Moreno C. A systematic review and meta-analysis of intimate partner violence during pregnancy and selected birth outcomes. Int J Gynaecol Obstet. 2016;133(3):269–76.CrossRefPubMed
3.
Sorbo MF, Grimstad H, Bjorngaard JH, Schei B, Lukasse M. Prevalence of sexual, physical and emotional abuse in the Norwegian mother and child cohort study. BMC Public Health. 2013;13:186.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
4.
Finnbogadottir H, Dykes AK, Wann-Hansson C. Prevalence and incidence of domestic violence during pregnancy and associated risk factors: a longitudinal cohort study in the south of Sweden. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2016;16:228.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
5.
James L, Brody D, Hamilton Z. Risk factors for domestic violence during pregnancy: a meta-analytic review. Violence Vict. 2013;28(3):359–80.CrossRefPubMed
6.
7.
Lukasse M, Schei B, Ryding EL, Bidens Study G. Prevalence and associated factors of fear of childbirth in six European countries. Sex Reprod Healthc. 2014;5(3):99–106.CrossRefPubMed
8.
Hjemdal OK, Engnes K. Å spørre om vold ved svangerskapskontroll. [Asking about violence in antanatal care (in Norwegian)]. Oslo: NKVTS; 2009.
9.
Finnbogadottir H, Dykes AK. Increasing prevalence and incidence of domestic violence during the pregnancy and one and a half year postpartum, as well as risk factors: a longitudinal cohort study in southern Sweden. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2016;16:327.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
10.
Bowen E. Heron J, Waylen a, Wolke D and the Alspac study team. Domestic violence risk during and after pregnancy: findings from a British longitudinal study. BJOG Int J Obstet Gynaecol. 2005;112(8):1083–9.CrossRef
11.
Taillieu TL, Brownridge DA, Tyler KA, Chan KL, Tiwari A, Santos SC. Pregnancy and intimate partner violence in Canada: a comparison of victims who were and were not abused during pregnancy. J Fam Violence. 2016;31(5):567–79.CrossRef
12.
Alhusen JL, Ray E, Sharps P, Bullock L. Intimate partner violence during pregnancy: maternal and neonatal outcomes. J Women's Health. 2015;24(1):100–6.CrossRef
13.
Hooker L, Samaraweera NY, Agius PA, Taft A. Intimate partner violence and the experience of early motherhood: a cross-sectional analysis of factors associated with a poor experience of motherhood. Midwifery. 2016;34(2):88–94.CrossRefPubMed
14.
Norwegian Directorate of Health: Nasjonal faglig retningslinje for svangerskapsomsorgen - hvordan avdekke vold. [National guidlines, ananatal care – how to uncover violence (in Norwegian)]. Oslo: The Norwegian Directorate of Health; 2014.
15.
O'Doherty L, Hegarty K, Ramsay J, Davidson LL, Feder G, Taft A. Screening women for intimate partner violence in healthcare settings. Cochrane Database Syst rev. 2015;7:CD007007.
16.
Devries KM, Kishor S, Johnson H, Stockl H, Bacchus LJ, Garcia-Moreno C, et al. Intimate partner violence during pregnancy: analysis of prevalence data from 19 countries. Reprod Health Matters. 2010;18(36):158–70.CrossRefPubMed
17.
Vatnar SKB, Bjørkly S. Does it make any difference if she is a mother? An interactional perspective on intimate partner violence with a focus on motherhood and pregnancy. J Interpers Violence. 2010;25(1):94–110.CrossRefPubMed
18.
Sprague S, Madden K, Simunovic N, Godin K, Pham NK, Bhandari M, et al. Barriers to screening for intimate partner violence. Women Health. 2012;52(6):587–605.CrossRefPubMed
19.
Feder G, Davies RA, Baird K, Dunne D, Eldridge S, Griffiths C, et al. Identification and referral to improve safety (IRIS) of women experiencing domestic violence with a primary care training and support programme: a cluster randomised controlled trial. Lancet. 2011;378(9805):1788–95.CrossRefPubMed
20.
Finnbogadóttir H, Dykes A-K. Midwives' awareness and experiences regarding domestic violence among pregnant women in southern Sweden. Midwifery. 2012;28(2):181–9.CrossRefPubMed
21.
Hatcher AM, Woollett N, Pallitto CC, Mokoatle K, Stockl H, Garcia-Moreno C. Willing but not able: patient and provider receptiveness to addressing intimate partner violence in Johannesburg antenatal clinics. J Interpers Violence. 2016; [Epub ahead of print]
22.
Norwegian Directorate of Health: Nasjonal faglig retningslinje for svangerskapsomsorgen. [National guidlines, ananatal care. (in Norwegian)]. Oslo: The Norwegian Directorate of Health; 2014.
23.
Danielsen EM, Solberg A, Grøvdal Y. Kommunal helse- og omsorgstjenesters arbeid med vold i nære relasjoner. En kvalitativ intervjuundersøkelse. [working with violence in primary care. Qualitative Interwievs. (in Norwegian) ]. NKVTS: Oslo; 2016.
24.
Green J, Thorogood N. Qualitative methods for health research. 2nd ed. London: SAGE Publications Ltd; 2009.
25.
Graneheim UH, Lundman B. Qualitative content analysis in nursing research: concepts, procedures and measures to achieve trustworthiness. Nurse Educ Today. 2004;24(2):105–12.CrossRefPubMed
26.
Tong A, Sainsbury P, Craig J. Consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research (COREQ): a 32-item checklist for interviews and focus groups. Int J Qual Health Care. 2007;19(6):349–57.CrossRefPubMed
27.
WHO: Responding to intimate partner violence and sexual violence against women: WHO clinical and policy guidelines. In. Geneva: The Norwegian Directorate of Health; 2013.
28.
García-Moreno C, Hegarty K, d'Oliveira A. F. L, Koziol-MacLain J, Colombini M, Feder G. The health-systems response to violence against women. Lancet 2014;385, 1567-1579.
29.
Henriksen L. Spør norske jordmødre alle gravide om vold? [Does Norwegian midwives ask pregnant women about violence? (In Norwegian)]. Tidsskrift for jordmødre. 2017;1(123):5.
30.
Baird KM, Saito AS, Eustace J, Creedy DK. An exploration of Australian midwives' knowledge of intimate partner violence against women during pregnancy. Women Birth. 2015;28(3):215–20.CrossRefPubMed
31.
Eustace J, Baird K, Saito AS, Creedy DK. Midwives’ experiences of routine enquiry for intimate partner violence in pregnancy. Women Birth. 2015;28(3):215–20.CrossRefPubMed
32.
Hooker L, Small R, Taft A. Understanding sustained domestic violence identification in maternal and child health nurse care: process evaluation from a 2-year follow-up of the MOVE trial. J adv Nurs. 2016;72(3):534–44.CrossRef
33.
LoGiudice JA. Prenatal screening for intimate partner violence: a qualitative meta-synthesis. Appl Nurs res. 2015;28(1):2–9.CrossRefPubMed
34.
Norwegian Departement of Health: White paper nr 12 (2008–2009): En gledelig begivenhet – Om en sammenhengende svangerskaps-, fødsels- og barselomsorg. [A happy occation – continuity in maternity care. (In Norwegian)] Oslo: The Norwegian Directorate of Health; 2009.
35.
Ellberg L, Hogberg U. Lindh V: 'We feel like one, they see us as two': new parents' discontent with postnatal care. Midwifery. 2010;26(4):463–8.CrossRefPubMed
36.
Stenson K, Sidenvall B, Heimer G. Midwives' experiences of routine antenatal questioning relating to men's violence against women. Midwifery. 2005;21(4):311–21.CrossRefPubMed
37.
Taft A, Hooker L, Humphreys C, Hegarty K, Walter R, Adams C, et al. Maternal and child health nurse screening and care for mothers experiencing domestic violence (MOVE): a cluster randomised trial. BMC med. 2015;13:150.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
38.
Baird K, Salmon D, White P. A five year follow-up study of the Bristol pregnancy domestic violence programme to promote routine enquiry. Midwifery. 2013;29(8):1003–10.CrossRefPubMed
39.
Mauri EM, Nespoli A, Persico G, Zobbi VF. Domestic violence during pregnancy: midwives experiences. Midwifery. 2015;31(5):498–504.CrossRefPubMed
40.
Malterud K. Qualitative research: standards, challenges, and guidelines. Lancet. 2001;358(9280):483–8.CrossRefPubMed
Metadata
Title
‘It is a difficult topic’ – a qualitative study of midwives´ experiences with routine antenatal enquiry for intimate partner violence
Authors
L. Henriksen
L.M Garnweidner-Holme
K.K Thorsteinsen
M. Lukasse
Publication date
01-12-2017
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth / Issue 1/2017
Electronic ISSN: 1471-2393
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12884-017-1352-2

Other articles of this Issue 1/2017

BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth 1/2017 Go to the issue

Research article

Correlates of facility delivery for rural HIV-positive pregnant women enrolled in the MoMent Nigeria prospective cohort study

Research article

Obstetric professionals’ perceptions of non-invasive prenatal testing for Down syndrome: clinical usefulness compared with existing tests and ethical implications

Research article

Experiences of Austrian mothers with mobility or sensory impairments during pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium: a qualitative study

Research article

Safety and effectiveness of oral misoprostol for induction of labour in a resource-limited setting: a dose escalation study

Research article

Factors associated with low birth weight in Nepal using multiple imputation

Case report

Successful anticoagulant therapy for disseminated intravascular coagulation during conservative management of placenta percreta: a case report and literature review