In this study the prevalence, severity, and correlates of physical abuse during pregnancy will be established for a sample of rural, socially disadvantaged women. These data will provide the foundation for future investigation of physical abuse as a mechanism for poor pregnancy outcome among rural, poor women, specifically low birth weight and preterm birth. A prospective study of a sample of both African American and Caucasian women who register for prenatal care at the Allendale County Rural Health Program birthing center in Fairfax, South Carolina, is proposed to investigate these specific aims. The women will be screened for physical abuse with a validated, three-question abuse screen at the end of the second trimester and then repeatedly throughout the third trimester as an integral part of prenatal care. The women will be interviewed at the end of the second trimester about their home environment, transportation, health-risk behaviors, psychosocial characteristics, and pregnancy wantedness. Prenatal visit data, urine drug screens, values, demographic, reproductive history, and complications of pregnancy data will be abstracted from the medical records after delivery. The results will include data on the extent and correlates of physical abuse during pregnancy among socially disadvantaged women living in rural areas, who unlike urban women, have inadequate public transportation systems, limited health services, and long distances to access prenatal care. These findings will provide direction for future study of the direct and indirect contribution of physical abuse to high rates of low birth weight births among medically underserved, rural women.