Postpartum Mothers' Disclosure of Abuse, Role, and Conflict

Abstract

Experts evaluating evidence of the occurrence and effects of abuse before, during, and after pregnancy have called for research on the context within which violence occurs. This study elicited postpartum mothers' perceptions of roles and conflict in their abusive intimate relationships. Thirty newly delivered African-, Anglo-, and Hispanic-American abused mothers consented to be interviewed. While ethnicity, cultural norms, and economic issues framed their descriptions, more than half (57%) described their relationships as not abusive even though they reported experiencing behaviors defined as abuse on standardized abuse screening instruments. Several women found ways to take care of themselves within the abusive relationship. The concerns that these diverse abused postpartum mothers expressed can serve as a foundation for the development of culturally sensitive interventions.

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