I was on call when a new Mom called our crisis line. Tess told me that her partner had assaulted her a few days before while she held her crying baby in her arms.  We talked in detail about safety planning--what steps she could take to keep her newborn and herself out of danger--and what she wanted to do next.  I then asked her how she had heard about EDVP, whether she had thought about calling us before, whether healthcare workers at her hospital had brought up the subject of domestic violence.

Tess said that, yes, she had been asked questions about her personal safety during every trimester of her pregnancy.  This screening process is part of what we train healthcare workers at Evergreen and Overlake hospitals to do.  Each woman is asked whether she feels safe in her relationship, whether anybody is being hurtful to her, whether she feels safe going home.   And healthcare workers pay close attention to any injuries, since we know that during pregnancy women are often at higher risk of being abused by their partners.   It's all incorporated into the regular healthcare screening.

And since there are cycles of abuse, it's important to screen at each visit.  While everything may seem O.K. during one visit, that could change at the next. 

Although asked about her relationship, Tess wasn't ready to reveal her situation--she was holding out for her child's birth and hoping that things would get better then.  But they didn't. When Tess went home from the hospital with a packet of information including the crisis line phone number and supplies to help with her baby. When her husband's violence continued, she knew that she and her child were both at risk.  And she knew where to call.

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