Partnership with Doulas & Domestic Violence Services
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St. Catherine University SOPHIA Master of Social Work Clinical Research Papers School of Social Work 5-2016 Partnership with Doulas & Domestic Violence Services Nora Smyth St. Catherine University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://sophia.stkate.edu/msw_papers Part of the Social Work Commons Recommended Citation Smyth, Nora. (2016). Partnership with Doulas & Domestic Violence Services. Retrieved from Sophia, the St. Catherine University repository website: https://sophia.stkate.edu/msw_papers/673 This Clinical research paper is brought to you for free and open access by the School of Social Work at SOPHIA. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master of Social Work Clinical Research Papers by an authorized administrator of SOPHIA. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Partnership with Doulas & Domestic Violence Services by Nora Smyth, B.S.W. MSW Clinical Research Paper Presented to the Faculty of the School of Social Work St. Catherine University and the University of St. Thomas St. Paul, Minnesota in Partial fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Social Work Committee Members Catherine L. Marrs Fuchsel, PhD., LICSW, LCSW, (Chair) Akhmiri Sekhr-Ra, Doula Erica Gerrity, LICSW The Clinical Research Project is a graduation requirement for MSW students at St. Catherine University/University of St. Thomas School of Social Work in St. Paul, Minnesota and is conducted within a nine-month time frame to demonstrate facility with basic social research methods. Students must independently conceptualize a research problem, formulate a research design that is approved by a research committee and the university Institutional Review Board, implement the project, and publicly present the findings of the study. This project is neither a Master’s thesis nor a dissertation. PREGNANCY AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE Abstract This research explored the perspectives of doulas and domestic violence (DV) service providers on how strategic partnerships between them could enhance outcomes for pregnant women and new mothers who are experiencing DV. Research indicates that DV during pregnancy is a risk factor for women to experience more severe abuse including higher risk of death (Silverman, Decker, Reed, & Raj, 2006). DV service providers in partnership with doulas who have been trained to understand dynamics of DV may help many women get the support they need and likely reduce the amount of serious complications during childbirth associated with exposure to DV during pregnancy (Lesser, Maurer, Stephens, & Yolkut, 2005). Seven semi-structured interviews were conducted with DV service providers and doulas. The interviews were transcribed, coded and analyzed for themes. Ten major themes were identified: (a) What No One is Talking About, (b) Impact of DV on Childbirth, (c) A False Hope, (d) Assessment of DV during Childbirth, (e) The Power of Relationship, (f) Barriers to Safety during Childbirth (g) Challenges for Service Providers, (h) Safety Planning & Birth Planning, (i) A Power Shift, and (j) Call to Action. Discussion and potential implications of these findings were then discussed. Keywords: Domestic Violence, Pregnancy, Childbirth, i PREGNANCY AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE Acknowledgments I would like to thank my research chair Dr. Catherine Marrs Fuchsel for always being supportive and helpful with the entire process of the research study. She always kept me on a track that was steady and manageable and in alignment with deadlines. Her feedback always helped me push the quality of my paper to higher standards. I would also like to thank my committee members Akhmiri Sekhr-Ra and Erica Gerrity for agreeing to be a part of this research and supporting me with it despite their various other responsibilities. I am honored to have both of their incredibly vast and ongoing experience as doulas. I would also like to thank my peers for promoting solidarity and offering support continuously. I also want to thank each of my participants for extending themselves to this study and sharing their stories and expertise with me. Each interview was fascinating and I feel blessed to have had the opportunity to deepen my understanding of this issue with such amazing women. I would also like to thank my parents who have offered unconditional support and ensured that I had daycare needs met to make time to complete all requirements by the deadlines. I will never be able to give back to them as much as they have given me. I would like to thank my daughter Savannah who has been patiently sacrificing time she deserves with her mom while I complete my degree. Finally, I would like to honor this paper to the women and infants who have lost their lives from DV during pregnancy, birth and postpartum periods. ii PREGNANCY AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................................ i Acknowledgments……………………………………………………………………..………….ii Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1 Literature Review............................................................................................................................ 3 Backround Information on Doulas .................................................................................................. 5 Backround Information on Domestic Violence .............................................................................. 9 Prevalence of Domestic Violence ............................................................................................. 11 Economic Impacts of Domestic Violence................................................................................. 11 Barriers to Safety ...................................................................................................................... 12 Domestic Violence and Pregnancy ............................................................................................... 15 Implications of DV during Pregnancy .......................................................................................... 16 Intervention Services .................................................................................................................... 18 Summary of Findings .................................................................................................................... 19 Conceptual Framework ................................................................................................................. 21 iii PREGNANCY AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE Methods......................................................................................................................................... 24 Study Design ............................................................................................................................. 24 Sample and Sampling Procedure .............................................................................................. 24 Protection of Human Subjects .................................................................................................. 25 Data Collection ......................................................................................................................... 26 Data Analysis ............................................................................................................................ 27 Validity and Reliability of Data ................................................................................................ 27 Strenghts and Limitations of Study........................................................................................... 28 Findings…………………………………………………………….……………………………29 Discussion……………………………………………………………………………….………76 References ..................................................................................................................................... 88 Appendix A ................................................................................................................................... 95 Appendix B ................................................................................................................................... 96 Appendix C ................................................................................................................................... 97 Appendix D ................................................................................................................................... 99 iv PREGNANCY AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE 1 Partnership with Doulas & Domestic Violence Services Childbirth is considered to be a major developmental stage in a women’s life span (Basile, 2012). In this study, the term childbirth includes pregnancy, birth and the postpartum period. Domestic violence (DV) will be defined as any violence (i.e., physical, sexual, psychological/emotional, and financial) between two intimate partners that are currently or formerly together, such as spouses and dating partners (Center for Disease Control [CDC], 2014). DV, also commonly referred to as intimate partner violence (IPV), is a significantly under-reported crime perpetrated mainly by men against women (Cooper, 2013; Gilliland, 2010; Moran, 2004). DV is unfortunately common during childbirth leaving women and their children exposed to increased risk of harm (Basile, 2012). Beyond the immediate complications that may result, this harm can extend into the lifespan of the mother