Domestic Violence during Pregnancy - Research Paper Example

?Domestic Violence During Pregnancy Affiliation with more information about affiliation, research grants, conflict of interest and how to contact Abstract: Domestic violence during pregnancy is a curse to the society. This paper discus the impacts of this epidemic to the women who suffer violence, fetuses and developing children. The paper also describes the duties of a nurse as well as would be nurse towards the domestic violence sufferers in preventing and early intervention of domestic violence.                       Domestic Violence During Pregnancy Introduction: This paper aims to discuss various effects of domestic violence during pregnancy. Domestic violence is becoming an epidemic in almost every part of the world. This is a public health issue, seriously affecting the health of women. According to a recent report by a US daily, out of 33 developed countries, the United States is in the 27th position for life expectancy after birth. “Pregnancy is a time when friends, family, and health professionals expect a woman’s partner to be particularly concerned about and attentive to her health and well-being. It is difficult to imagine that anyone, let alone the father of the baby, would intentionally injure a pregnant woman, thereby jeopardizing her health and the health of the fetus” (Humphreys & Campbell, 2011, p. 155). In a recent government health plan call “Healthy People 2020” released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services mentioned that domestic violence during pregnancy is found out to be the cause of complications like pre-term birth or low birth weight-outcomes. This type of violence also can cause various risks of maternal, prenatal and child health, miscarriage, infection, fetal injury and fetal death. While domestic violence occurs, injuries to the abdomen, breasts and genitals are some of the common factors. Apart from these physical risks, abusing during pregnancy can cause end number of psychological consequences like depression, stress and dependence to tobacco, drugs and alcohol. “Common sense demands that pregnant and nursing women minimize their exposure to xylene, just as they should minimize their exposure to alcohol, tobacco and other drugs” (Pregnancy, 2007, p. 68). Apparently, these psychological consequences affected the baby most as the majority of the time the mother losses attention in her or her baby’s physical condition, both through the pregnancy and following the child is born. “One study found that 15 percent of women were assaulted in the first four months of pregnancy and 17 percent were physically abused during the last five months of pregnancy” (Sterne et al. 2010, p. 48). Nursing Care Consideration to Domestic Violence: What Nurses can do? Research found that around 324,000 pregnant women in the United States are battered by their intimate partners every year. Hence, there is a need of creating awareness against domestic violence during pregnancy keeping in mind the fact that domestic violence is becoming the largest cause of injury for women in the United States. As per nurses are concern, all nurses and health care professionals of all specialties are likely to assist help to the women sufferer of domestic violence. Nurses must assure the sufferer a proactive assistance to this dilemma. They should involve themselves to treat the sufferers of domestic violence. They should take a helpful and empowering approach towards the patients. While assessing the patient who faced domestic violence, it is very necessary for the nurses to create a believing and accepting environment, so that the patient does not lose her self esteem. Various researchers found that believing, accepting and supporting patient by the nurses can improve the psychological healing of such patients. What are the impacts of battering to the individual client, newborn and the family? Although there are lots of literature reviews, the impacts of domestic violence on the individual client, newborn and family are yet to reveal. But there is no doubt on the fact that “intimate partner violence during pregnancy has an impact on not only the woman but the developing fetus and the extended family” (Shay-Zapien, 2010).   Battering during pregnancy highly threatens the baby and the mother’s health. The mother can face a high risk of: Uterus injury Miscarriage, stillbirth or premature baby, etc Violence also increases risks for the baby too, such as: Weighing too little at birth as well as having trouble nursing or taking a bottle Having sleeping problems, problems while learning to walk, talk and learn normally Experiencing lasting emotional trauma, being physically and sexually abused Being hurt during a fight Moreover, domestic violence may lead the sufferer to a situation like isolation, where the sufferer may cut off relationship with friends, family as well as neighbors. Most of the time, domestic violence also polluted the household environment. Research also found out that child abuse and domestic violence go hand-in-hand. “Preventing the first incident of domestic violence or the escalation of previous violence is a necessary step in ending DV-related deaths during pregnancy” (McF Morgan, 2010). What are the Physical and Mental assessment findings by nurses? The nurse treating the patient of domestic violence needs to assess the patient’s physical and psychological status with a believing and accepting approach. The Physical Assessment Found Out During the Check-Up can be Listed As: Head, neck and facial injuries, abdomen, breasts and genitals injuries, vaginal bleeding, dizziness, numbness, multiple bruises in various stages of healing, hemorrhage, complications during labor, miscarriage, fetal bruising, fractures and hematomas and sometimes death. Mental Assessment Findings: Depression, anxiety, suicide tendency, substance abuse, sleep disorder, withdrawal from touch, avoid eye contact, low or nil self esteem, messy appearance, hostility, stress, and addiction to tobacco, alcohol and drugs etc. How to address this issue as a future nurse: Plans? To identify and diminishing the risks of domestic violence should be the basic ethical duties of a nurse or a would-be nurse. They have an important role to play towards setting a better community without domestic violence during pregnancy as well as to offer assistance to the women and children that faced violence. The positive response to the victim is very important to feel the victim comfortable to open-up. The nurses need to listen them carefully, communicating belief, validating the decision to disclose, emphasizing the unacceptability of violence. Nurses can offer their help in various ways towards the domestic violence sufferer: Taking initiative and asking about domestic violence by a nurse could be the best practice towards an effective intervention: “A nurse would look at me and know…What about the burn on my hand? The missing hair? The teeth? I waited to be asked. Ask me. Ask me. Ask me. I’d tell her. I’d tell them everything. Look at the burn. Ask me about it. Ask” (Doyle, 1996, p. 1). It is found through various researches that sufferers of domestic violent sometimes feel uncomfortable to talk themselves about the abuses they have experienced. They feel comfortable to disclose about their abuses when a caring nurse inquire directly about the violence. Hence, direct involvement and inquiry about a domestic violence can be the important nursing intervention to attend a domestic violence. Assessing the Patient with a Believing and Accepting Approach: It should be a nurse’s prior duty to assess a patient of domestic violence to find out physical and mental signs and symptoms. Then offering treatment to heal their physical symptoms comes under a nurse’s primary duty. As discussed earlier, listening to the patient calmly, believing and supporting them by a nurse help them in healing the patient’s psychological disturbance sooner. Documenting and Reporting: Accurate and complete report by a nurse about the domestic violence faced by the sufferer can proved to be extremely helpful for the patient in near future, in case the patient plans to file a police case or seek legal action against the abusive partner. Moreover, documenting and reporting helps in offering treatment to the patient in future. Safety Planning: Once the nurse offers assistance to the patient’s immediate needs, the nurse should make a safety assessment, which will help the patient in taking a decision about their future approach towards the domestic violent. Referral Advice: The nurse should help the patient with a list of local supports, whom they may contact in case of future needs. The list should contain emergency phone numbers, support groups for battered women, financial aid, legal aid, counseling services, local authority for emergency housing service etc. According to the British Medical Association, a nurse should serve a victim of domestic violent by offering following helps: Respect and Validation Response and Risk assessment Record keeping Information giving Information sharing and confidentiality Support and follow up Conclusion: As mentioned earlier, domestic violence is an epidemic to the society and nurses and health care professionals have an intrinsic role to play to end this epidemic. Nurses are probably the first persons to whom the domestic violence sufferers talk about the abuses. So, this is moral duty of a nurse to feel the sufferers protective emotionally as well as physically.  In recent times, health departments are showing their interest and commitment in sorting out the issue of domestic violence. Hence, it’s the pick time for the nurses and would-be nurses to offer their commitment in improving the health of all communities.           Reference List Domestic Violence During Pregnancy, (2000). Fact Sheet Women, Health and Development Program. Retrieved from http://www.planetwire.org/files.fcgi/2368_violencepregnancy.PDF Doyle, R. (1996). The Woman Who Walked into Doors. Family Violence Prevention Fund. Retrieved from http://www.futureswithoutviolence.org/userfiles/file/HealthCare/nursing.pdf Humphreys, J. & Campbell, J. C. (2011). Family Violence and Nursing Practice. 2nd Edn. Springer Publishing Company. Retrieved from http://books.google.co.in/books?id=OKC4S5BZaP0C&pg=PA64IA91&dq=Domestic+Violence+During+Pregnancy+2009&hl=en&sa=X&ei=8nVMT86_O4rXrQf8l52gDw&ved=0CDoQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q&f=false McF Morgan, (2010). Domestic Violence and Pregnancy. Birth Activist. Retrieved from http://www.birthactivist.com/2010/06/domestic-violence-and-pregnancy/ Murray et al. (1990). Physical Violence in American Families; Risk Factors and Adaptations to Violence in 8,145 Families. Transaction Publishers. Retrieved from http://www.dvrc-or.org/domestic/violence/resources/C61/ Pregnancy, (2007). DoctorNDTV.com. Byword Books Private Limited. Retrieved from http://books.google.co.in/books?id=If3Nx5bKEsAC&pg=PA13&dq=drugs+and+alcohol-pregnancy+2010&hl=en&sa=X&ei=xHtMT_XbBcqHrAflkbCgDw&ved=0CD4Q6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q&f=false Shay-Zapien, G. (2010). Impact of Intimate Partner Violence on Maternal Child Health. Lippincott’s Nursing Center.com. Retrieved from http://www.nursingcenter.com/library/JournalArticle.asp?Article_ID=1034467 Sterne et al. (2010). Domestic Violence and Children: A Handbook for Schools and Early Year’s Settings. Routledge. Retrieved from http://books.google.co.in/books?id=SCGr4RiBPnwC&pg=PA48&dq=Domestic+Violence+During+Pregnancy2010&hl=en&sa=X&ei=TXhMT5bPI8XMrQe2r4iIDw&ved=0CEsQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q&f=false Read More