Mentor mothers may help docs care for abused women

By Shereen Jegtvig NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Mothers with special training can help family doctors provide at-home support to women with violent partners, a new study suggests. Family doctors often see women in their practices who are suffering from intimate partner violence, but in the office, the physicians may not be equipped to give these women the help and support they need, say Dutch researchers. Over a four-month period, “Mentor support had an important role for mothers in becoming aware of the negative effects of (partner violence) on their children and to accept professional support, preventing mental problems and intergenerational transmission of violent behavior,” the study authors write in the journal Family Practice.