Numrah Afzal, Khadija Aziz, Sualeha Zulfiqar.
Frequency of Preterm Birth in Females Presenting with History of Domestic Violence.
J Islamabad Med Dent Coll Jan ;7(3):213-6.

Objective: To find frequency of preterm birth in females presenting with history of domestic violence.Patients and Methods: This cross sectional study was done at Basic Health Unit, Sakhana Bajwa, District Gujranwala. Total 150 cases were included in the study having mean age of 20-40 years with single pregnancy or of any parity with current pregnancy of gestational age >24 weeks experiencing domestic violence. Domestic violence was defined as physical violence such as beating or hurting or sexual violence. All females were followed in OPD till delivery. During follow-up, ultrasound was performed to check fetal health. Preterm delivery was defined as delivery occurring before completion of 37 weeks.Results: The mean age of females in this study was 33.32±6.42 years (range = 23 - 50 years). The mean gestational age was 37.65 ± 4.3 week with minimum and maximum gestational age was 32 weeks and 41 weeks. Preterm birth was seen in 20(13.33%) cases, while 130(86.67%) females had full term birth.Conclusion: The current study shows high frequency of preterm birth in females experiencing domestic violence. Most of the females and their husbands were less educated, belonged to lower social class and had parity < 2.

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