The Impact of Antenatal Interpersonal Violence Exposure on Birthing Experience and Postpartum Mental Health Sequelae: Do We Need Trauma-Informed Interventions?

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is common and is associated with deleterious mental health outcomes. Less research has focused on the impact of lifetime IPV exposure on pregnancy-related outcomes and postpartum mental health symptoms, especially anxiety symptoms. As such, the current study examined the impact of lifetime IPV exposure on birthing experiences and postpartum anxiety symptoms. Participants were a sample of 1,912 females enrolled in a multi-site randomized control trial (i.e., “Mamma