Experiences of intimate partner violence and antepartum depression among women seeking antenatal care in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: findings from the MISPOD study

Abstract Despite the high prevalence of intimate partner violence (IPV) and antepartum depression, there is limited evidence on the association between the two in Ethiopia. We aimed to investigate the association between experience of IPV during and before pregnancy and depression in the third trime...

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Main Authors: Nigus Bililign Yimer, Lenka Beňová, Samson Gebremedhin, Alemnesh H Mirkuzie, Meseret Zelalem, Gracia Fellmeth, Anteneh Asefa
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-04-01
Series:Scientific Reports
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-93342-5
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author Nigus Bililign Yimer
Lenka Beňová
Samson Gebremedhin
Alemnesh H Mirkuzie
Meseret Zelalem
Gracia Fellmeth
Anteneh Asefa
author_facet Nigus Bililign Yimer
Lenka Beňová
Samson Gebremedhin
Alemnesh H Mirkuzie
Meseret Zelalem
Gracia Fellmeth
Anteneh Asefa
author_sort Nigus Bililign Yimer
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Despite the high prevalence of intimate partner violence (IPV) and antepartum depression, there is limited evidence on the association between the two in Ethiopia. We aimed to investigate the association between experience of IPV during and before pregnancy and depression in the third trimester of pregnancy. We surveyed women attending antenatal care clinics in 22 selected health facilities in Addis Ababa in the third trimester of pregnancy. We used a 12-item tool to measure IPV and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EDPS) to measure antepartum depression. We performed multivariable logistic regression analysis to determine the association between IPV and antepartum depression. Of the 399 women included, 14.5% (95% CI: 11.3-18.5%) had symptoms suggestive of antepartum depression (EDPS score ≥ 11) and 31.6% (95% CI: 27.1-36.4%) had recently experienced some form of IPV. The adjusted odds of antepartum depression was 2.24 higher among women who had experienced IPV compared to those who had not (95% CI: 1.11–4.54). Antepartum depression was higher among women aged 15–24 compared to those aged 25–34 (AOR = 2.76, 95% CI: 1.05, 7.23), women with low maternal social support compared to those with adequate support (AOR = 7.04, 95% CI: 2.07, 23.97), and women who worried very often about feeding their family compared to those who did not worry at all (AOR = 8.95, 95% CI: 3.09, 25.94). The findings highlight the need for integrated and tailored interventions to mitigate IPV and antepartum depression to address the needs of adolescent and young women, and those living in poverty or lacking social support.
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spelling doaj-art-e61fed651e6f430795f33faf4da30c4a2025-08-20T02:27:52ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-04-0115111110.1038/s41598-025-93342-5Experiences of intimate partner violence and antepartum depression among women seeking antenatal care in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: findings from the MISPOD studyNigus Bililign Yimer0Lenka Beňová1Samson Gebremedhin2Alemnesh H Mirkuzie3Meseret Zelalem4Gracia Fellmeth5Anteneh Asefa6School of Midwifery, College of Health Sciences, Woldia UniversityDepartment of Public Health, Institute of Tropical MedicineSchool of Public Health, Addis Ababa UniversityJSI Research and Training InstituteMaternal, Child and Adolescent health Service Directorate, Ministry of HealthNational Perinatal Epidemiology Unit, Nuffield Department of Population Health, University of OxfordDepartment of Public Health, Institute of Tropical MedicineAbstract Despite the high prevalence of intimate partner violence (IPV) and antepartum depression, there is limited evidence on the association between the two in Ethiopia. We aimed to investigate the association between experience of IPV during and before pregnancy and depression in the third trimester of pregnancy. We surveyed women attending antenatal care clinics in 22 selected health facilities in Addis Ababa in the third trimester of pregnancy. We used a 12-item tool to measure IPV and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EDPS) to measure antepartum depression. We performed multivariable logistic regression analysis to determine the association between IPV and antepartum depression. Of the 399 women included, 14.5% (95% CI: 11.3-18.5%) had symptoms suggestive of antepartum depression (EDPS score ≥ 11) and 31.6% (95% CI: 27.1-36.4%) had recently experienced some form of IPV. The adjusted odds of antepartum depression was 2.24 higher among women who had experienced IPV compared to those who had not (95% CI: 1.11–4.54). Antepartum depression was higher among women aged 15–24 compared to those aged 25–34 (AOR = 2.76, 95% CI: 1.05, 7.23), women with low maternal social support compared to those with adequate support (AOR = 7.04, 95% CI: 2.07, 23.97), and women who worried very often about feeding their family compared to those who did not worry at all (AOR = 8.95, 95% CI: 3.09, 25.94). The findings highlight the need for integrated and tailored interventions to mitigate IPV and antepartum depression to address the needs of adolescent and young women, and those living in poverty or lacking social support.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-93342-5Antepartum depressionIntimate partner violencePerinatal mental healthPregnancySocial support
spellingShingle Nigus Bililign Yimer
Lenka Beňová
Samson Gebremedhin
Alemnesh H Mirkuzie
Meseret Zelalem
Gracia Fellmeth
Anteneh Asefa
Experiences of intimate partner violence and antepartum depression among women seeking antenatal care in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: findings from the MISPOD study
Scientific Reports
Antepartum depression
Intimate partner violence
Perinatal mental health
Pregnancy
Social support
title Experiences of intimate partner violence and antepartum depression among women seeking antenatal care in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: findings from the MISPOD study
title_full Experiences of intimate partner violence and antepartum depression among women seeking antenatal care in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: findings from the MISPOD study
title_fullStr Experiences of intimate partner violence and antepartum depression among women seeking antenatal care in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: findings from the MISPOD study
title_full_unstemmed Experiences of intimate partner violence and antepartum depression among women seeking antenatal care in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: findings from the MISPOD study
title_short Experiences of intimate partner violence and antepartum depression among women seeking antenatal care in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: findings from the MISPOD study
title_sort experiences of intimate partner violence and antepartum depression among women seeking antenatal care in addis ababa ethiopia findings from the mispod study
topic Antepartum depression
Intimate partner violence
Perinatal mental health
Pregnancy
Social support
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-93342-5
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