Abstract
Aims: Several case reports show a negative impact of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) on prenatal care. The study aimed to systematically investigate this association in a larger study group.
Methods: CSA was investigated by face-to-face interviews and by a modified questionnaire developed by Wyatt. All study participants completed a self-administered questionnaire designed to investigate the consequences of CSA on prenatal care during adulthood. Data from 85 women after CSA were compared to those of 170 matched women without such experiences.
Results: Women exposed to CSA had fewer than five prenatal consultations more often than unexposed women (26%/7%; P<0.0001). Of the 85 women with a positive history for CSA, 9.4% had been asked for such antecedents, 36.5% had intense memories on original abuse situations during pregnancy, 56.6% mentioned specific consequences of CSA on prenatal care and 61.2% were satisfied with obstetrical support. Exposed women (62.4%) felt significantly less prepared for labor than unexposed women (75.9%) (P<0.0001).
Conclusions: CSA experiences are associated with impaired prenatal care. These results underscore the compelling need to improve prenatal care in women exposed to CSA through better education of obstetricians regarding the effects of CSA and in their ability to provide empathetic professional support.
We gratefully acknowledge the women who participated in the study. We thank Dorothy Huang for the English language revision of the manuscript and Alois Tschopp for statistical support.
References
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©2013 by Walter de Gruyter Berlin Boston
Articles in the same Issue
- Masthead
- Masthead
- Review article
- Anxious and depressive components of Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale in maternal postpartum psychological problems1)
- Original Articles – Obstetrics
- Isolated low-normal amniotic fluid volume in the early third trimester: association with adverse perinatal outcomesa
- Trends in twin pregnancies and mode of delivery during the last 30 years: inconsistency between guidelines and clinical practice
- Prenatal care in adult women exposed to childhood sexual abuse
- Maternal and fetal adropin levels in gestational diabetes mellitus
- Ethnic disparities in perinatal mortality at 40 and 41 weeks of gestation
- Polymorphisms in the activin A receptor type 2A gene affect the onset time and severity of preeclampsia in the Turkish population
- Outcome of isolated fetal renal pyelectasis diagnosed during midtrimester screening ultrasound and cut-off value to predict a persistent or progressive pyelectasis in utero
- A polymorphism in an autophagy-related gene, ATG16L1, influences time to delivery in women with an unfavorable cervix who require labor induction
- Management of gestational hypertension – the impact of HYPITATa
- Reliability of quantitative elastography of the uterine cervix in at-term pregnancies
- Congenital anomalies, prematurity, and low birth weight rates in relation to nuclear power plant proximity1)
- Original Articles – Fetus
- Fetal magnetic resonance imaging of lymphangiomas
- Original Articles – Newborn
- Brainstem dysgenesis during the neonatal period: diagnosis and management
- Improving admission temperature in extremely low birth weight infants: a hospital-based multi-intervention quality improvement project
- Short Communication
- Periconceptional use of folic acid and risk of miscarriage – findings of the Oral Cleft Prevention Program in Brazil
- Congress Calendar
- Congress Calendar
Articles in the same Issue
- Masthead
- Masthead
- Review article
- Anxious and depressive components of Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale in maternal postpartum psychological problems1)
- Original Articles – Obstetrics
- Isolated low-normal amniotic fluid volume in the early third trimester: association with adverse perinatal outcomesa
- Trends in twin pregnancies and mode of delivery during the last 30 years: inconsistency between guidelines and clinical practice
- Prenatal care in adult women exposed to childhood sexual abuse
- Maternal and fetal adropin levels in gestational diabetes mellitus
- Ethnic disparities in perinatal mortality at 40 and 41 weeks of gestation
- Polymorphisms in the activin A receptor type 2A gene affect the onset time and severity of preeclampsia in the Turkish population
- Outcome of isolated fetal renal pyelectasis diagnosed during midtrimester screening ultrasound and cut-off value to predict a persistent or progressive pyelectasis in utero
- A polymorphism in an autophagy-related gene, ATG16L1, influences time to delivery in women with an unfavorable cervix who require labor induction
- Management of gestational hypertension – the impact of HYPITATa
- Reliability of quantitative elastography of the uterine cervix in at-term pregnancies
- Congenital anomalies, prematurity, and low birth weight rates in relation to nuclear power plant proximity1)
- Original Articles – Fetus
- Fetal magnetic resonance imaging of lymphangiomas
- Original Articles – Newborn
- Brainstem dysgenesis during the neonatal period: diagnosis and management
- Improving admission temperature in extremely low birth weight infants: a hospital-based multi-intervention quality improvement project
- Short Communication
- Periconceptional use of folic acid and risk of miscarriage – findings of the Oral Cleft Prevention Program in Brazil
- Congress Calendar
- Congress Calendar