Adding to the Strain for Indian Women: Abuse by in-Laws During Pregnancy

[MAITRI]

Adding to the Strain for Indian Women: Abuse by in-Laws During
Pregnancy

ScienceDaily (Aug. 16, 2010) —

Physical abuse and maltreatment by in-laws is not uncommon among
pregnant and postpartum women in India, and may be compromising
maternal and child health, according to a new study led by a Boston
University School of Public Health (BUSPH) researcher.

The study by a multi-institutional team led by Anita Raj, professor of
community health sciences at BUSPH -- published online this month in
the Maternal and Child Health Journal -- found that more than one in
four women study participants in the low-income Mumbai community
reported violence or other forms of maltreatment from in-laws during
pregnancy or after giving birth.

Such abuse, which ranged from denial of food to impeded access to
medical care, was significantly more likely among women who also
experienced violence from their husbands, the study found.

"Findings from this study clearly document the high prevalence of in-
law abuse both in pregnancy and postpartum and more importantly, the
striking relationship between perinatal in-law abuse and [intimate
partner violence]" by husbands, the authors wrote. "These findings
have critical implications for perinatal [intimate partner violence]
prevention and intervention efforts with South Asian women and in
cultural contexts where extended families form an important social
unit."

The study involved in-depth interviews with women in Mumbai to gauge
the prevalence of physical and non-physical abuse by in-laws and
husbands during pregnancy and after giving birth. Among the forms of
abuse by in-laws that women described was verbal humiliation, impeding
access to health care, and denial of food during pregnancy. While
rates of physical abuse were relatively low, 20 percent of women
reported that in-laws had insulted them or their families in front of
others during their pregnancies. Some women also reported that in-laws
pressured them to become pregnant, made decisions regarding the timing
of conception or abortion, and dictated who would care for the child.

In one interview included in the study, a 17-year-old Muslim woman
says her in-laws "want a boy child, and as you know, I delivered [a]
girl child. My sister-in-law has some uterus problems, so she is
unable to conceive a child. Now my in-laws want me to deliver another
child [a boy] and give the girl to my sister-in-law."

The study authors said the link between husband abuse and mistreatment
by in-laws had important implications for prevention and intervention
efforts for South Asian women, in a culture where social units are
built around extended families.

"Evidence from this and other studies demonstrates the need to screen
and address abuse from in-laws among pregnant and postpartum
populations, and indicate that screening for in-law abuse also will
likely improve the detection of [abuse by husbands]," the study says.

The authors also pushed for broader changes in social policy "to
promote gender equitable attitudes and norms" and to improve the
status of women.

Raj has done extensive research on child marriage and domestic
violence in India. Her co-authors on the study include: Shagun
Sabarwal and Jay G. Silverman, of Harvard School of Public Health;
Michele R. Decker, of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health;
Saritha Nair, Meghna Jethva and Balaiah Donta, of the Indian Council
of Medical Research in Mumbai, India; Suneeta Krishnan, of the Women's
Global Health Imperative, RTI International, and the Division of
Epidemiology, University of California-Berkeley; and Niranjan
Saggurti, of the Population Council, New Delhi, India.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/08/100816114829.htm