Assessment for Intimate Partner Violence (Nursing)

00:00 One of the things that sometimes happen during pregnancy is that there is an increase in intimate partner violence. And when we talk about intimate partner violence, this does not mean this is a marital partner necessarily, this could be someone who is living in the house with the pregnant patient, this could be somebody they're married to, it could just be somebody that they live with. But we know that there is an increase in intimate partner violence for patients who are pregnant because of the vulnerable state that they are in.

00:26 So we don't want to miss this opportunity to talk to them and assess for risks of that. So what are some signs that intimate partner violence may be experienced by a patient and these are general terms, so this does not mean that everyone who is experiencing these complications is involved in a relationship like this, but this should be a red flag. So poor pregnancy weight gain, having an infection, experiencing anemia, tobacco use, history of a stillbirth. What information from a past history might indicate that intimate partner violence has occurred? Placental abruption would be one of those. So, placental abruption is when the placenta actually pulls away from the uterine wall before the baby comes out. And that, as you can imagine, would not be good for fetal outcomes but that can happen as a result of trauma so someone who has been hit in the abdomen or someone who falls. A pelvic fracture perhaps from a fall or from some other sort of abuse might be something that may indicate that intimate partner violence was involved. A fetal injury similar to placental abruption from some sort of trauma or hitting or falling. Preterm delivery. Preterm labor and preterm delivery have been linked with increased levels of stress and certainly being in a situation in which intimate partner violence is involved can increase someone's stress. So, not to say that every patient who experiences stress is involved in an intimate partner violence relationship, but it definitely is something we want to make sure that we assess and having low birth weight which may indicate against stress or also inadequate access to food or nutrients or anything like that.