Objective To determine the impact of intimate partner violence against women on children’s growth and nutritional status in low- and
middle-income countries.
Methods We pooled records from 42 demographic and health surveys in 29 countries. Data on maternal lifetime exposure to physical or
sexual violence by an intimate partner, socioeconomic and demographic characteristics were collected. We used logistic regression models
to determine the association between intimate partner violence and child stunting and wasting.
Findings Prior exposure to intimate partner violence was reported by 69 652 (34.1%) of the 204 159 ever-married women included in
our analysis. After adjusting for a range of characteristics, stunting in children was found to be positively associated with maternal lifetime
exposure to only physical (adjusted odds ratio, aOR: 1.11; 95% confidence interval, CI: 1.09–1.14) or sexual intimate partner violence (aOR:
1.09; 95% CI: 1.05–1.13) and to both forms of such violence (aOR: 1.10; 95% CI: 1.05–1.14). The associations between stunting and intimate
partner violence were stronger in urban areas than in rural ones, for mothers who had low levels of education than for women with higher
levels of education, and in middle-income countries than in low-income countries. We also found a small negative association between
wasting and intimate partner violence (aOR: 0.94; 95%CI: 0.90–0.98).
Conclusion Intimate partner violence against women remains common in low- and middle-income countries and is highly detrimental
to women and to the growth of the affected women’s children. Policy and programme efforts are needed to reduce the prevalence and
impact of such violence.