Impact of intimate partner violence during pregnancy on maternal mental health and child development: a birth cohort study in central Vietnam.

Abstract

Objectives: This study measured the impact of prenatal intimate partner violence (p-IPV) on maternal mental health and suspected developmental delays (SDDs) in children at 6 months of age in central Vietnam.

Methods: Data were drawn from a community-based birth cohort of 285 mother-child dyads in Hue citycity, central Vietnam. The exposure factor was p-IPV, assessed using the revised conflict tactics scale (CTS2). Maternal mental health was measured with the patient health questionnaire-9. Child development at 6 months was screened using the Vietnamese version of the Ages and Stages Questionnaire, 3rd Edition (ASQ-3). Robust Poisson regression was used to estimate associations of p-IPV with maternal mental health and SDDs.

Results: Among the women, 18.9% reported experiencing p-IPV. SDDs were identified in 13% of the children, with communication delays being the most prevalent (10.9%). The association between p-IPV and SDDs remained significant after adjustment for confounders in multilevel models, with the highest relative risk (RR) observed in the fully adjusted model (RR, 2.43; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.08-5.48). p-IPV exposure was significantly associated with postpartum depression in the crude and partially adjusted models, but this association became non-significant after full adjustment-most notably after accounting for prenatal depression, which remained a predictor of postpartum depression (RR, 1.15; 95% CI, 1.06-1.25).

Conclusion: p-IPV is significantly associated with increased risk of postpartum depression and developmental delays in early infancy. Integrating IPV screening and targeted interventions into prenatal care may contribute to improved developmental outcomes in children and better maternal health.