Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), such as violence, neglect and abuse, growing up in dysfunctional households and witnessing violence towards close family members or within the community, can have an adverse effect on a child’s development and health. Growing up in such an environment can cause distress, which can affect both an individual’s physical and mental health later in life.
A few articles have been published using data from the extensive SAGA Cohort, demonstrating a connection between childhood trauma and health later in life. International research has also shown that there is a correlation between adverse childhood experiences and gestational diabetes, high blood pressure, gestational weight gain, as well as anxiety and antenatal depression. Until now, however, no research has been published about the possible link between adverse childhood experiences and women’s experience of childbirth later in life. This was the subject of an article in the journal Midwifery, published by a group of researchers led by Emma Marie Swift, associate professor of midwifery, and Helga Zoega, professor of public health, earlier this year.
The research is part of the BirthSAGA project, which received a grant from the Icelandic Centre for Research. Collaborators come from the Centre of Public Health Sciences at the Faculty of Medicine and the Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery at UI.
Key findings show that women who have experienced childhood trauma are more likely to view their childbirth experience negatively. This tendency is especially evident in women who have experienced four or more traumatic events. These women were twice as likely to report a negative childbirth experience as women who had not experienced any childhood trauma.
Has not been researched before
As mentioned earlier, data from the SAGA Cohort were used for this study. In the SAGA Cohort, women were asked questions about childhood trauma using a measurement tool called Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE), and about their experiences of childbirth. These data were then linked to maternity records to gather information on what doctors and midwives had recorded about the birth, including interventions during labour, women's and their children’s well-being during pregnancy, at birth, and soon after. Using this information, it was possible to examine whether adverse childhood experiences were strongly associated with the childbirth experience, or whether other factors known to negatively affect the childbirth experience also played a part. These are factors such as intervention during birth (emergency C-sections and assisted deliveries), health during pregnancy, and factors during childbirth that affect well-being post-partum, including perineal tear or bleeding. After controlling for these factors, it emerged that changes in the association between childhood trauma and childbirth experience were not statistically significant and that women who had experienced four or more traumatic events were twice as likely to report a negative childbirth experience.
To the best of the researchers’ knowledge, the link between adverse childhood experiences and childbirth experiences has not been studied before. Therefore, the research is an important addition to existing knowledge of factors that influence how women experience childbirth. The findings provide grounds for further research and discussion on how best to support this group of women during pregnancy, childbirth, and the postpartum period.
The study is the first published from the BirthSAGA project. More research about childbirth experiences is underway and is expected to be published later this year.
