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Violence during pregnancy is reported more often by teens than by adults. These U.S. authors conducted a prospective cohort study of Medicaid-eligible prenatal program participants aged 13 to 40 (353 adults, 192 teens) to examine the severity, manifestations, and consequences of prenatal violence in teens compared with adults. The women were assessed for violence with the question, "Have you been hit, slapped, kicked, or hurt during this pregnancy?" If the patient responded "yes," she was asked additional questions according to a systematic violence-assessment protocol. Prenatal and delivery records were also reviewed.
Reported prenatal violence was higher among teens (16.1 percent) than among adults (11.6 percent). Severe violence, includin…