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Content: McFarlane, Parker, Soenken, and Bullock (1992) found that abused women were two times more likely to begin prenatal care in the third trimester. The fetus is at risk because adverse pregnancy outcomes such as miscarriage, stillbirths, and premature delivery have been reported following battering episodes (Bullock, McFarlane, Bateman, & Miller, 1989). Pregnant women are more likely to have multiple sites of injury than non-pregnant women (Helton, 1987) and are more likely to be struck in the abdomen (Bohn, 1990). Two of the most common causes of blunt abdominal trauma to the pregnant woman are falls and assaults (Pearlman, Tintinalli, & Lorenz, 1990). Placental or direct fetal injury can occur with minor maternal injuries resulting in death of the fetus. Ribe, Teggatz, and Harvey (1993) cited three cases where pregnant women were hit or kicked in the abdomen—causing fetal demise. For Jackie, the risk of an abdominal assault during pregnancy was great. Bullock and McFarlane (1989) explored the issue of physical abuse and the incidence of low birth weight infants. They found that approximately 18% of infants born to battered women were below 2,500 grams compared to 4.2% of the control infants (born to women not experiencing violence in their relationships). Other researchers have confirmed a positive correlation between low birth weight and domestic violence (Parker,