What Does Domestic Violence and Abuse in Pregnancy Look Like?
By this point in the course, we have come to recognise that around one in every 10 to 20 pregnant people seen in practice will be experiencing current DVA (this …
Course: Identifying and Responding to Domestic Violence and Abuse (DVA) in Pregnancy
Tell us about your experience of the course
As you near completion of this Massive Open Online Learning Course (MOOC), we would like to invite you to help us understand how it was experienced and how it influences …
Why we are offering this course?
Domestic violence and abuse (DVA) knows no boundaries, not in relation to who it targets, when it strikes or how. It may commence or escalate during pregnancy, when not just …
A midwife’s personal story
We would now like to share with you a powerful, real-life account of one woman. Her experience will resonate with survivors across the world: the relentless juggling of the abuse …
Risk Factors for Domestic Violence
Certain factors are associated with increased or decreased risk of domestic violence and abuse. However, it is vital for health providers to recognise that DVA knows no boundaries and can …
This week
Last week’s education focused on domestic violence and abuse (DVA) from the perspective of the childbearing person and their families. This week we will seek to enhance our screening practices …
Making the Referral
Part of the response to DVA disclosure is to offer referral and follow-up. The person’s unique circumstances will dictate your referral response. On the one hand, you may be offering …
The presence of other forms of gender-based violence
Whilst covering all aspects of gender-based violence (GBV) is beyond the scope of this course, the implications of different forms of GBV for pregnancy journeys must not be ignored. Pregnant …
The need for connections with community-based organisations
Clinics, hospitals and other health settings need to have clear referral policies and pathways in place to assist staff to make appropriate referrals to a range of service providers. This …
The Impact of Domestic Violence and Abuse on Pregnancy
Adapted from a graphic produced by WHO based on a 2013 report entitled ‘Global and regional estimates of violence against women: Prevalence and health effects of intimate partner violence …
Trust and relationships
Building a trusting and personalised relationship facilitates the screening process (Burnett & Bacchus, 2016; Mauri et al., 2015). Another minimum condition for healthcare providers to ask women about DVA is …
Domestic Violence and Abuse Documentation
Healthcare providers should accurately and completely document the findings of any examinations and any other information relevant to domestic abuse. This allows appropriate follow-up and supports survivors to access advocacy, …
Arranging follow-up
One of the strengths of the antenatal care setting for addressing domestic abuse is that people will (or should) return several times over the course of the pregnancy. However, it …
These articles are from the online course:
Identifying and Responding to Domestic Violence and Abuse (DVA) in Pregnancy