Abusive Relationships Among Pregnant Women

During the lifetime, trust and support is most critical for all human beings. When a woman is pregnant, this support and trust is important for her mental and physical health. Women who are in abusive relationships lose this support and are soon found to be struggling with their mental health and emotions. Pregnant women who are in abusive relationships run the risk of losing their baby from high stress levels, depression and other factors. As women come out of the abusive relationship, some are found to be in shelters. These shelters have a surplus of women who face issues with depression, anxiety and some women have symptoms similar to one with PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder)(Wilson, et al, 2015). The purpose of the shelters is to help

These relationships most often have devastating costs to their mental and physical health. The public has offered countless shelters, programs, and aid for these victims. It is mandatory that these men and women seek help after coming out of an abusive relationship because many of them face issues socially, mentally, and physically. Victims of DV are most often found with trauma from the experience. Over the decade, many of the human services created to help those out of an abusive relationship have joined with other programs in order to create trauma informed-care (TIC). The purpose of this program is to assume that anyone who walks through the door are facing some sort of trauma and must be helped. Michele Cascardi, K. Daniel O’Leary, and Karin A. Schlee once said (1995) that women and men who have faced the devastations of domestic violence are most common to have symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The symptoms have been predicted from factors of physical and emotional abuse. Examples of such abuse are isolation, threats, insults and physical violence. Research done by Walker (1979, 1984) concluded that the subtype of PTSD with abused women is Battered Woman Syndrome. Such a subtype of PTSD can have long lasting effects on these women. Women find difficulty in living their everyday life. With

Pregnant women who are abused in relationships face the threat to their health and risk of death to the mother or fetus (Campbell, 2002). Though there is some evidence that abuse during pregnancy leads to miscarriage, it is not well supported and therefore is controversial (Morland, et al, 2008). Though there have been some cases in the distress of the fetus or even some cases of miscarriage, it is very difficult to create the relationship that abuse during pregnancy increases the chance of miscarriage. There can still be damage to the mother and fetus, as would with any abuse victim, but the risk of death to the fetus has very little evidence to support it. Victims of abuse during pregnancy may face damaging depression or even trauma. The trauma from the abuse can even increase the possibility of death to the mother and fetus. According to Campbell (2002), there is inconsistent evidence to the relation of fetal distress, antepartum haemorrhage and pre-eclampsia with abuse during pregnancy but women still face health dangers physically and mentally. Abuse during pregnancy has been linked to poor weight gain of pregnant women, smoking, substance abuse, and alcohol abuse (Alhusen, et al, 2015). Abused pregnant women have high reportings of depression, during and after the pregnancy. This can contribute to the unhealthy body and mind they receive after pregnancy.