Research
General gynecology
Reproductive coercion and co-occurring intimate partner violence in obstetrics and gynecology patients

Presented at the 61st Annual Clinical Meeting of the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, New Orleans, LA, May 4-8, 2013.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajog.2013.09.019Get rights and content

Objective

Reproductive coercion is male behavior to control contraception and pregnancy outcomes of female partners. We examined the prevalence of reproductive coercion and co-occurring intimate partner violence among women presenting for routine care at a large, urban obstetrics and gynecology clinic.

Study Design

Women aged 18-44 years completed a self-administered, anonymous survey. Reproductive coercion was defined as a positive response to at least 1 of 14 questions derived from previously published studies. Women who experienced reproductive coercion were also assessed for intimate partner violence in the relationship where reproductive coercion occurred.

Results

Of 641 women who completed the survey, 16% reported reproductive coercion currently or in the past. Among women who experienced reproductive coercion, 32% reported that intimate partner violence occurred in the same relationship. Single women were more likely to experience reproductive coercion as well as co-occurring intimate partner violence.

Conclusion

Reproductive coercion with co-occurring intimate partner violence is prevalent among women seeking general obstetrics and gynecology care. Health care providers should routinely assess reproductive-age women for reproductive coercion and intimate partner violence and tailor their family planning discussions and recommendations accordingly.

Section snippets

Materials and Methods

From January through May 2012 we administered a cross-sectional, anonymous survey approved by the institutional review board of Women and Infants Hospital of Rhode Island. We offered a 28-item, self-administered questionnaire to English-speaking women presenting for routine obstetrics and gynecology care at a large obstetrics and gynecology clinic. Women were excluded from the study if they were age <18 or >44 years, were non-English speaking, or presented for a surgical or subspecialty

Results

A total of 737 women were approached to participate in the study. Of these, 641 (87%) women completed at least 1 of the reproductive coercion questions. The average age of participants was 26 years (Table 1). The study sample was diverse with 42% self-identified as being Latina, 16% as black, 27% as white, and 15% as another or mixed race. Twenty-eight percent reported being single or in a dating relationship, and 70% were married or in a committed relationship. Almost everyone reported ever

Comment

In this study of >600 women presenting for general obstetrics and gynecology care at a large, urban clinic, 16% reported having experienced reproductive coercion (pregnancy coercion, birth control sabotage, or both). Additionally, 32% of these women experienced reproductive coercion in the setting of intimate partner violence. After adjustment for possible confounders, being single or in a dating or undefined relationship was significantly associated with reproductive coercion, suggesting that

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Day One Sexual Assault and Trauma Resource Center for donating the intimate partner violence resource cards provided to each study participant.

References (16)

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The authors report no conflict of interest.

Cite this article as: Clark LE, Allen RH, Goyal V, et al. Reproductive coercion and co-occurring intimate partner violence in obstetrics and gynecology patients. Am J Obstet Gynecol 2014;210:42.e1-8.

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