Childhood physical and sexual abuse experiences associated with post-traumatic stress disorder among pregnant women (original) (raw)
Related papers
Journal of Midwifery & Women's …, 2008
Our objective was to address the gap in knowledge about the extent to which perinatal mental health and risk behaviors are associated with childhood and adult experiences of abuse that arises because of barriers to screening and disclosure about past and current abuse. Survey data from an ongoing study of the effects of posttraumatic stress on childbearing were used to describe four groups of nulliparous women: those with no abuse history, adult abuse only, childhood abuse only, and abuse that occurred during both periods. The rates of abuse history disclosure were higher in the research context than in the clinical settings. Mental health morbidity and risk behaviors occurred in a dose-response pattern with cumulative abuse exposure. Rates of current posttraumatic stress disorder ranged from 4.1% among those never abused to 11.4% (adult only), 16.0% (childhood only), and 39.2% (both periods). Women abused during both periods also were more likely to be using tobacco (21.5%) and drugs (16.5%) during pregnancy. We conclude that mental health and behavioral risk sequelae affect a significant portion of both childhood and adult abuse survivors in prenatal care. The integration into the maternity setting of existing evidence-based interventions for the mental health and behavioral sequelae of abuse is needed.
BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, 2023
Background Although associations between maternal exposure to adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and perinatal anxiety and depression are established, there is a paucity of information about the associations between ACEs and perinatal trauma and perinatal post-traumatic stress outcomes. For the purposes of this article, perinatal trauma is defined as a very frightening or distressing event that may result in psychological harm. The event must have been related to conception, pregnancy, birth, and up to 12 months postpartum. Methods Women recruited at an antenatal appointment (n = 262) were invited to complete online surveys at twotime points; mid-pregnancy and eight weeks after the estimated date of delivery. The ACE Q 10-item self-reporting tool and a perinatal trauma screen related to the current and/or a previous perinatal period were completed. If the perinatal trauma screen was positive at either time point in the study, women were invited to complete a questionnaire examining symptoms of perinatal post-traumatic stress disorder and, if consenting, a clinical interview where the Post-traumatic Symptoms Scale was administered. Sixty women (22.9%) reported four or more ACEs. These women were almost four times more likely to endorse perinatal trauma, when compared with those who either did not report ACEs (OR = 3.6, CI 95% 1.74 -7.36, p < 0.001) or had less than four ACEs (OR = 3.9, CI 95% 2.037.55, p < 0.001). A 6-sevenfold increase in perinatal trauma was seen amongst women who reported having at least one ACE related to abuse (OR = 6.23, CI 95% 3.32-11.63, p < 0.001) or neglect (OR = 6.94, CI 95% 2.95-16.33, p < 0.001). The severity of perinatal-PTSD symptoms for those with perinatal trauma in pregnancy was significantly higher in those women exposed to at least one ACE related to abuse. Conclusions Awareness of maternal exposure to childhood adversity/maltreatment is critical to providing traumainformed approaches in the perinatal setting. Our study suggests that routine screening for ACEs in pregnancy adds clinical value. This adds to previous research confirming the relationship between ACEs and mental health complexities and suggests that ACEs influence perinatal mental health outcomes.
PloS one, 2015
We examined associations of childhood physical and sexual abuse with risk of intimate partner violence (IPV). We also evaluated the extent to which childhood abuse was associated with self-reported general health status and symptoms of antepartum depression in a cohort of pregnant Peruvian women. In-person interviews were conducted to collect information regarding history of childhood abuse and IPV from 1,521 women during early pregnancy. Antepartum depressive symptomatology was evaluated using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9. Multivariable logistic regression procedures were used to estimate adjusted odds ratios (aOR) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CI). Any childhood abuse was associated with 2.2-fold increased odds of lifetime IPV (95%CI: 1.72-2.83). Compared with women who reported no childhood abuse, those who reported both, childhood physical and sexual abuse had a 7.14-fold lifetime risk of physical and sexual IPV (95%CI: 4.15-12.26). The odds of experiencing physical and...
Child Abuse in the Context of Intimate Partner Violence Against Women
Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 2014
Intimate male partner violence against women has been recognized as an important public health problem, with a high impact on women’s mental health, including depressive and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. However, fathers who have been involved in intimate partner violence (IPV) have an increased probability of being violent toward their children. The aim of this study was to assess the relation between the mental health status of abused women, their partner’s violence toward the children, and their maternal behavior.
The impact of psychological abuse by an intimate partner on the mental health of pregnant women
BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 2008
Setting Antenatal clinics in seven public hospitals in Hong Kong. Population Three thousand two hundred and forty-five pregnant women. Methods The Abuse Assessment Screen (AAS) and demographic questionnaires were administered face-to-face at 32-36 weeks of gestation. At 1 week postpartum, the AAS, Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale and SF-12 Health Survey were administered by telephone. Main outcome measures Intimate partner violence, postnatal depression and health-related quality of life. Results Two hundred and ninety six (9.1%) of the participants reported abuse by an intimate partner in the past year. Of those abused, 216 (73%) reported psychological abuse only and 80 (27%) reported physical and/or sexual abuse. Forty six (57.5%) in the physical and/or sexual abuse group also reported psychological abuse. Women in the psychological abuse only group had a higher risk of postnatal depression compared with nonabused women (adjusted OR: 1.84, 95% CI: 1.12-3.02). They were also at a higher risk of thinking about harming themselves (adjusted OR: 3.50, 95% CI: 1.49-8.20) and had significantly poorer mental healthrelated quality of life (P < 0.001). The higher risks of postnatal depression and thinking of harming themselves were not observed in the physical and/or sexual abuse group although significantly poorer mental health-related quality of life (P < 0.001) was observed. Conclusions Psychological abuse by an intimate partner against pregnant women has a negative impact on their mental health postdelivery. Furthermore, psychological abuse in the absence of physical and/or sexual abuse can have a detrimental effect on the mental health of abused women. The findings underscore the importance of screening pregnant women for abuse by an intimate partner and the need for developing, implementing and evaluating interventions to address psychological abuse.
Childhood Maltreatment History, Posttraumatic Relational Sequelae, and Prenatal Care Utilization
Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic, & Neonatal Nursing, 2013
Bell, MSN, FNP-BC [doctoral candidate] and University of Michigan School of Nursing. Her research focuses on the intersection of reproductive health and mental health. Julia Seng, PhD, CNM, FAAN [nurse-midwife and an Associate Professor] University of Michigan School of Nursing where she studies the effects of posttraumatic stress disorder on women's health and childbearing outcomes.
Childhood Abuse and Common Complaints in Pregnancy
Birth, 2009
Background: Childhood abuse affects adult health. The objective of this study was to examine the prevalence of emotional, physical, and sexual childhood abuse within a large Norwegian cohort of pregnant women and its association with common complaints in pregnancy. Methods: This study is based on the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa) conducted by the Norwegian Institute of Public Health. Regression analyses were used to examine associations of childhood abuse and 16 common complaints in pregnancy. Results: Eighteen percent (10,363/55,776) of the women reported some type of childhood abuse. Of all women, 3,870 (6.9%) reported sexual abuse, 3,075 (5.5%) physical abuse, and 7,619 (13.6%) emotional abuse as a child. Of those reporting childhood abuse, 31 percent reported two or more types of abuse. All 16 common complaints in pregnancy were associated with reported childhood abuse. Women reporting three types of childhood abuse reported 5.4 common complaints in pregnancy (mean) compared with 3.7 for women without childhood abuse (p < 0.001). Women reporting childhood abuse are more likely to report seven or more common complaints in pregnancy: adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 1.7 (95% CI 1.6-1.9) for emotional abuse; AOR 2.5 (95% CI 2.0-3.1) for combined physical and sexual abuse; and AOR 3.5 (95% CI 3.0-4.0) for all three kinds of abuse. Sociodemographic characteristics and other risk factors did not explain this graded association. Conclusions: Abuse in childhood is associated with increased reporting of common complaints of pregnancy. Clinicians should consider the possible role of childhood abuse when treating women with many common complaints in pregnancy.