Washington: A new study has revealed that 22.7 percent of pregnant women endure some kind of violence, like emotional, physical or sexual, within their relationship.

The study at the University of Granada found that 21 percent of pregnant women suffer emotional violence, 3.6 percent encounter physical or sexual violence and 36.1 percent of those who reported physical violence claimed that it happened "very often or daily."

Main author Stella Martin de las Heras said that until now there had been no studies of this kind in Spain and consequently, the magnitude of this problem in their midst was unknown and the consequences, however, are very serious, both for the health of the mother and that of the foetus.

The results show that the prevalence of partner violence against pregnant women is high in Spain when compared with nearby countries, in which the figure hovers around 3.4 percent to 8.3 percent.

Martin de las Heras added that with these figures, detection of violence should be routinely included in pregnancy management, and protocols for action should be established where necessary.

She suggested that the involvement and motivation of health professionals is crucial.

The study is published in the journal Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica.