"He stepped on my belly" An exploration of Intimate Partner Violence Experience and Coping Strategies among Pregnant Women in Southwestern-Uganda

Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) associated with pregnancy remains a challenge globally and in the Ugandan context. However, literature on IPV experiences, support seeking and coping strategies during pregnancy remains limited in Uganda. This study explored the pregnant womens IPV experiences, support seeking and coping strategies in Southwestern Uganda. Pregnant women with IPV experience during the index pregnancy were purposively approached for in-depth interviews and saturation of data was reached at 25 respondents. Data was analyzed inductively using thematic analysis. Women voiced experiences of IPV that included partners: spending nights away from home without any communication, refusal of accompaniment for antenatal care contacts, uncomfortable sexual intercourse positions, forced sexual intercourse, being slapped, punched, and kicked, failure to pay bills like rent, childrens school fees, transport money to seek medical care and food. Women preferred sharing IPV experiences with their biological mothers to midwives or any other person and some kept it to themselves. The main support given by their support systems was encouraging the victims to try and maintain their marriage and keeping quiet when the partner starts quarreling. Women coped by confiding in their relatives, keeping silent, self-consolation, tolerance of the perpetrator since they financially depended on them, distracting bad thoughts through thinking about good things like friends, self-blame and praying to God. Pregnant women did not understand the role of midwives in IPV nor did the midwives inquire about the IPV experience during Antenatal care contacts. The findings of this study point to the need for the Health system to incorporate a user friendly IPV screening tool onto the ANC card to enhance routine IPV screening by midwives and recruit counselors and peer supporters to assist midwives in providing individualized psychological support.