[Epidemiological profile of female victims of psychological violence during the pre and postpartum periods in the Sédhiou region, Senegal].

BACKGROUND In Senegal, psychological violence remains a taboo subject insofar as it often arises in the closed circle of family life. It has a highly negative impact on the health of pregnant women. The objective of this work was to study the epidemiological profile of female victims of psychological violence before and after birth in the Sedhiou region. METHOD An observational, cross-sectional and analytical study was carried out from December 4, 2018 to April 4, 2019. The study population consisted of all the women received for postnatal consultation in one of the referral health structures in the Sedhiou region. Data were collected using a survey form and a questionnaire administered to the women having met the inclusion criteria. The data were entered using CS Pro software and subsequently analyzed using R 3.4.4 software. RESULTS The mean age of the women was 25.4±7.8 (14-43 years). A total of 222 women (55.5 %) had suffered psychological violence during the prepartum period. Isolated psychological violence represented 44.3 % of the surveyed population, while psychological violence associated with sexual or physical violence represented 8.0 % and 5.4 % of the respondent population, respectively. The factors associated with psychological violence during the prepartum period were pursuit of a professional activity [ORaj=4.7 (1.3-17.0)], high educational status [ORaj=7.0 (4.2-11.5)] and performance of fewer than 3 antenatal consultations (ANC) [ORaj=2.2 (1.2-4.0)]. Maternal, fetal and neonatal complications were more frequent among victims of psychological violence (P<0.05). During the postpartum period, 26.5 % of the women who had been victims of violence during the prepartum period mentioned the fact that the aggression had ceased. The other women continued to endure violence, which was even more intense among 2.5 %. CONCLUSION Psychological violence among pregnant women has a negative impact on the health of the mother and the newborn. This state of affairs should induce health care providers to increase popular awareness of its detrimental effects. Communication efforts aimed at behavioral change will need to be combined during prenatal consultations with strengthened screening for violence, the objective being to achieve improved care.