Does domestic violence during pregnancy influence the beginning of complementary feeding?

Background: This study investigate the influence of domestic violence against pregnant women on early complementary feeding and associated factors.

Methods: A longitudinal observational study was conducted with a convenience sample recruited from three public hospitals in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Data on maternal age, education, marital status, breastfeeding, introduction of complementary feeding and domestic violence during pregnancy were investigated at four follow-ups points. Data on domestic violence was collected through a self-report questionnaire based on the Abuse Assessment Screen. The early introduction of complementary feeding, characterized as occurring before or at 3 months of life, was verified through a questionnaire prepared by the research group. Data analysis involved Student's t-test, the chi-square test and Cox regression and was carried out in Statistical Package for the Social Sciences program. The significance level was set at 5%.

Results: A total of 232 mother-infant pairs participated in the analyses, and 15.1% of the mothers reported suffering some form of violence. Domestic violence was directly associated with maternal education, marital status, and health status during pregnancy. Domestic violence was not associated with maternal age or breastfeeding at 3 months after delivery. In the univariate analysis, domestic violence during pregnancy was associated with early complementary feeding (RR = 1.74; CI: 1.01-2.98). This effect disappeared after the model was adjusted in multivariate analysis.

Conclusions: There was no relationship between domestic violence during pregnancy and early complementary feeding.