BMC women's health
-
Intimate partner violence (IPV) is physical, sexual or psychological violence by a current or former intimate partner. IPV threatens women's health, and during pregnancy women are more vulnerable to violence. Therefore, IPV screening has been recommended during antenatal care; however, health care providers have expressed concern about the negative impact on women and therefore have been reluctant in conducting IPV screening. Consequently our objective was to investigate pregnant women's experiences of reading and completing an IPV screening questionnaire. ⋯ The majority of women, including women experiencing IPV, had positive responses to IPV screening during pregnancy. Future diffusion of IPV screening requires safe environments for IPV screening and improved awareness of health care providers towards IPV.