Identifying, understanding and responding to domestic abuse in the perinatal period

Abstract

Domestic abuse often begins or escalates during the perinatal period, increasing the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes and death of the woman and infant. The hidden nature of domestic abuse, compounded by barriers to disclosure, means many clinicians are likely to have unknowingly encountered a patient who is being abused and missed a vital opportunity for intervention. This educational article presents the experience of a woman who was abused during pregnancy. It describes how to facilitate a disclosure and conduct an assessment and illustrates safeguarding duties alongside interventions.

Keywords

• Risk assessment
• perinatal psychiatry
• education and training
• consent and capacity
• psychosocial interventions