Physical Abuse Around the Time of Pregnancy Among Women With Disabilities Monika Mitra • Susan E. Manning • Emily Lu Published online: 10 May 2011 Ó Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2011 Abstract Women with disabilities are at greater risk for physical abuse than women without disabilities. However, no previous population-based studies have examined phys- ical abuse against women with disabilities around the time of pregnancy, a critical period for mother and child. The objective of this study was to describe the prevalence of physical abuse before and during pregnancy among a rep- resentative sample of Massachusetts women with and with- out disabilities. Data from the 2007–2008 Massachusetts Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (PRAMS) were analyzed in 2010. Disability prevalence was 4.9% (95% CI = 3.9–6.2) among Massachusetts women giving birth during 2007–2008. The prevalence of physical abuse during the 12-months before pregnancy among women with disabilities was 13.6% (95% CI = 7.2–24.0) compared to 2.8% for women without disabilities (95% CI = 2.1–3.7). Similarly, 8.1% (95% CI = 4.0–15.7) of women with dis- abilities compared to 2.3% (95% CI = 1.7–3.1) of women without disabilities experienced physical abuse during pregnancy. Multivariate analyses indicated that women with disabilities were more likely to report physical abuse before pregnancy (OR = 4.3, 95% CI = 1.9–9.7), during preg- nancy (OR = 2.8, 95% CI = 1.1–7.1), or during either time period (OR = 3.2, 95% CI = 1.4–7.1) than women without disabilities while controlling for maternal age, education, race/Hispanic ethnicity, marital status and household pov- erty status. No difference was observed by disability status in the likelihood of prenatal-care providers talking to women about physical abuse. These analyses reveal disproportionate prevalence of physical abuse before and during pregnancy among women with disabilities. Screening for physical abuse and timely referral of women in need of assistance are critical to optimize health outcomes for both mother and child. Keywords Physical abuse Á Violence Á Disabilities Á Women Á Pregnancy Introduction Over the last decade, there has been emerging research examining the prevalence and consequences of violence against women with disabilities. Women with disabilities are at increased risk for violence and may experience unique forms of abuse [1–12]. Barrett and colleagues found that 33.2% of women with disabilities experienced intimate partner violence compared to 21.2% of women without disabilities [10]. Casteel et al. found that after controlling for selected characteristics, women with severe disabilities were four times more likely to be sexually assaulted than women without disabilities [11]. This study seeks to build on prior research on violence against women with disabilities by focusing on the preva- lence of physical abuse among women with disabilities around the time of pregnancy. We document the prevalence of physical abuse 12-months before and during pregnancy among a population-based sample of Massachusetts women with disabilities and compare the prevalence of abuse M. Mitra (&) Department of Family Medicine and Community Health/Center for Health Policy and Research, University of Massachusetts Medical School, 333 South Street, Shrewsbury, MA 01545, USA e-mail: monika.mitra@umassmed.edu S. E. Manning Á E. Lu Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA e-mail: susan.manning@maine.gov E. Lu e-mail: Emily.lu@state.ma.us 123 Matern Child Health J (2012) 16:802–806 DOI 10.1007/s10995-011-0784-y