Table 2 Summary of original studies examining the association of maternal history of CSA with preterm birth or gestational age at birth
From: Maternal history of childhood sexual abuse and preterm birth: an epidemiologic review
First author (year) | Country | Study design | Sample size | Recruitment | CSA definition | PTB definition | CSA and PTB findings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jacobs (1992) [56] | United States | Retrospective | 15 CSA-exposed, 13 controls | CSA-exposed women recruited from survivors’ group, mental health center and through therapists; controls recruited from evening psychology class taught in the community | CSA definition not specified | Mean gestational age at birth | No significant correlation between being a victim of CSA and gestational age at birth in the entire sample (r = 0.12, p > 0.05). However, the authors reported a positive correlation between gestational age at birth and maternal history of being sexually touched as a child (r = 0.34, p < 0.05). |
Stevens-Simon (1994) [52] | United States | Prospective cohort | 127 women | Participants in the Rochester Study of Adolescent Pregnancy | Physical or sexual abuse (<19 years) | <37 weeks gestation | CSA-exposed women had shorter mean gestational lengths (38.0 ± 3.4 weeks) compared with non-exposed (39.1 ± 1.7 weeks, p ≤ 0.05). PTB more common among exposed women (19.1 % vs. 4.7 %, p ≤ 0.05; OR = 4.76, 95 % CI: 1.34, 16.89) |
Benedict (1999) [55] | United States | Prospective cohort | 357 women | Prenatal clinics in a large university-based hospital; women interviewed at 28–32 weeks gestation | ≥1 non-consensual and non-experimental contact or non-contact sexual episode (<18 years) by a perpetrator who was ≥5 years older than victim | <37 weeks gestation | No statistically significant association between CSA and gestational age at birth |
Grimstad (1999) [32] | Norway | Case–control | 82 women with low birth weight infants, 91 women with normal birth weight infants | Department of Obstetrics, the University Hospital of Trondheim | Adverse sexual experiences (<18 years) | Not defined | PTB prevalence similar for abused and non-abused women (36 % vs. 32 %, p = 0.68) |
Noll (2007) [53] | United States | Prospective cohort | 40 CSA-exposed, 31 controls | CSA-exposed girls were referred by CPS; unexposed girls were recruited through community advertisements | Substantiated contact sexual abuse perpetuated by a family member (between 6 and 16 years) | <37 weeks gestation | PTB risk increased among women with CSA vs. non-abused women (21 % vs. 11 %; OR = 2.80, p < 0.05) |
Leeners (2010) [54] | Germany | Retrospective cohort | 85 CSA-exposed, 170 controls | CSA-exposed women recruited through sexual abuse survivor centers in large cities; unexposed women were recruited through local kindergartens | Contact and non-contact sexual abuse (<18 years) | <37 weeks gestation | PTB risk increased among women with CSA history vs non-abused women (18.8 % vs. 8.2 %, p = 0.02; OR = 2.58, 95 % CI: 1.19 – 5.59) |