Incidence of preterm birth in pregnant women who have suffered violence in Uruguay

Abstract

Risk of preterm delivery in Uruguayan pregnant women, who have declared being victims of violence during 2012.A descriptive study was conducted on Uruguay, during 2012 year. The sample was consisted of 43,989 pregnant women enrolled in Perinatal Information System, that report violence and present all the important information to the study. Statistical analysis performed using Chi square, Anova, Student test and binary regression. Women who reported violence experienced during gestation were 1.3% of all pregnant women. Almost 19% of births in women who suffered violence were preterm; constituting violence as the highest social risk Prematurity Odds Ratio (OR): 1.34 (95% CI 1.03 to 1.76). The association was strong and independent of variables included at study. Newborns of these women are underweight, insufficient cephalic perimeter and length at birth. Violence in pregnant women that live on this status proved to be the greatest social risk for preterm delivery. Because of the adverse consequences of violence, should be a priority for health workers.