Objectives: To determine the characteristics of violence seen in pregnant teenagers who were treated at the Instituto Nacional Materno Perinatal (INMP) in Lima, Peru.
Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out by INMP between January and March, 2010 using a probabilistic and systematic sampling. The study unit comprises every hospitalized teenager who had just given birth and who lived in Lima. A semi-structured interview was conducted. History of violence was operationalized into: verbal violence (insults, ridicule, and humiliation), physical violence (arm pulling, hair pulling, pushes), direct aggression (slaps, kicking, burns) and sexual violence (sexual intercourse without consent).
Results: 292 teenage mothers aged 16,5 ± 1 in average took part in the study. 47.9% lived with their partners and 51.4% were single. In 97.3% of the cases, they got pregnant as a result of a conserted sexual relationship, while 2.7% got pregnant as a result of rape. 90.1% of teenage mothers reported not having planned the pregnancy. Conserning history of violence: 48.1% had had verbal violence, 17.1% physical violence, 8.2% direct aggression and 6.8% sexual violence.
Conclusions: Violence during teenage pregnancy is not an isolated event; actually, it is rather common in any of its forms.