Australian and New Zealand Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 2014, 54(3): 256-262

The authors conducted a review of hospital discharge files to understand the effect of assault during or after pregnancy on maternal, fetal and long term injury outcomes. The hospital records of women who were admitted to a New Zealand public hospital for a pregnancy related event between 2001 and 2006 were followed-up for 5 years. Compared with those who did not experience a hospitalised assault, those who experienced an assault and were hospitalised either during or after their pregnancy had increased risks of death, preterm labour, antepartum haemorrhage, infectious complication, spontaneous abortion and stillbirth. Women who were hospitalised for an assault after pregnancy had higher risks of subsequent injury related hospitalisation in the 5 years after the pregnancy event. The authors suggest that the results point to the need to identify women who live in a violent relationship, to provide adequate social support to reduce the risks of subsequent injury and adverse maternal and fetal outcomes.