ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses domestic violence experienced by women in pregnancy. It explores the social context of domestic violence in the UK, from both an historical and present day perspective, and the effects it has on women and their experience of pregnancy. The impact that health professionals and the maternity services can have on women's experience is also discussed, with some suggestions of how health professionals can help to ensure women who experience violence receive appropriate support. The language used to describe domestic violence and the women who experience it can be problematic. Terms such as 'victim' and 'battered wife' are frequently applied to women who experience domestic violence, implying weakness and passivity. Pregnancy, a time when women are making physical, emotional and social preparations for motherhood, offers no protection from abuse. For some women pregnancy is a result of their male partner's violence towards them, conception being the result of rape.
