Risk factors and health during pregnancy among women previously exposed to sexual violence.

• Published in: Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica
• Main Authors: Gisladottir, Agnes, Harlow, Bernard L, Gudmundsdottir, Berglind, Bjarnadottir, Ragnheidur I, Jonsdottir, Eyrun, Aspelund, Thor, Cnattingius, Sven, Valdimarsdottir, Unnur A
• Other Authors: Univ Iceland, Ctr Publ Hlth Sci, Reykjavik, Iceland, Univ Minnesota, Sch Publ Hlth, Dept Epidemiol, Minneapolis, MN USA, Univ Iceland, Dept Psychol, Reykjavik, Iceland, Landspitali Univ Hosp, Dept Accid & Emergency, Rape Trauma Serv, Reykjavik, Iceland, Landspitali Univ Hosp, Iceland Birth Register, Dept Obstet & Gynecol, Reykjavik, Iceland, Iceland Heart Assoc, Kopavogur, Iceland, Karolinska Inst, Clin Epidemiol Unit, Stockholm, Sweden, Harvard Univ, Sch Publ Hlth, Dept Epidemiol, Boston, MA 02115 USA
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Wiley-Blackwell 2014
• Subjects: Meðganga; Áhættuþættir; Reykingar; Atvinnuleysi; Nauðganir; Fíkniefnaneysla; Adolescent; Adult; Body Mass Index; Cohort Studies; Female; Health Status*; Humans; Iceland/epidemiology; Maternal Welfare; Obesity/epidemiology*; Parity; Pregnancy; Pregnancy Complications/epidemiology*; Rape*; Registries; Risk Factors; Smoking/epidemiology*; Substance-Related Disorders/epidemiology*; Unemployment; Weight Gain*; Young Adult; Iceland
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2336/325209; https://doi.org/10.1111/aogs.12331

To access publisher's full text version of this article click on the hyperlink at the bottom of the page To determine whether women exposed to sexual violence in adolescence or adulthood are at increased risk of adverse maternal characteristics during subsequent pregnancies. Register-based cohort study. Iceland. We identified 586 women who attended a Rape Trauma Service (RTS) between 1993 and 2008 and all subsequent births of these women up to April 2011 (n = 915). These pregnancies were compared with 1641 randomly selected pregnancies of women who had not attended the RTS and who gave birth during the same calendar month. Information on maternal smoking, body mass index and illicit drug use was obtained from maternal charts. We used Poisson regression to obtain multivariable adjusted relative risks (aRR) with 95% CI contrasting prevalence of outcomes in the two groups. Characteristics and risk factors during pregnancy, including maternal smoking, body mass index, weight gain during pregnancy, illicit drug use. Compared with unexposed women, sexually assaulted women were younger and more often primiparous in subsequent pregnancy, more likely not to be employed (7.8% vs. 4.3%; aRR 2.42, 95% CI 1.49-3.94), not cohabiting (45.6% vs. 14.2%; aRR 2.15, 95% CI 1.75-2.65), smokers (45.4% vs. 13.5%; aRR 2.68, 95% CI 2.25-3.20), and more likely to have used illicit drugs during pregnancy (3.4% vs. 0.4%; aRR 6.27, 95% CI 2.13-18.43). Exposed primiparas were more likely to be obese (15.5% vs. 12.3%; aRR 1.56, 95% CI 1.15-2.12). Women with a history of sexual violence are more likely to have risk factors during pregnancy that may affect maternal health and fetal development. Icelandic Research Fund for Graduate Students (Rannis) Landspitali University Hospital Research Fund