• Shahina Begum, S N Dwivedi, Arvind Pandey, and Suneeta Mittal.
• R. D. Gardi Medical College, Surasa, Ujjain 456006, Madhya Pradesh, India. shahina05@gmail.com
• Natl Med J India. 2010 Jul 1;23(4):198-200.

BackgroundViolence against women, especially by their husbands, is a serious public health issue that is associated with physical, reproductive and mental health consequences. The association between physical violence and unintended pregnancies has not been explored in India.MethodsData were drawn from the second round of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-2), India conducted in 1998-99. Unintended pregnancy, defined as a pregnancy that was not wanted at the time of conception, was the dependent variable. A set of independent covariates such as age, place of residence, education, working status, religion, standard of living index, type of family, number of surviving sons, use of contraceptive methods, pregnancies terminated and physical mistreatment by the husband were evaluated using a step-wise multiple logistic regression model.ResultsMultiple logistic regression analysis showed that women who had been physically mistreated by their husbands were 47% (OR 1.47; 95% CI 1.25-1.72) more likely to experience unintended pregnancies.ConclusionPreventing physical violence against women by their husbands could reduce unintended pregnancies.

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