Elisabeth Fortin-Langelier1, Isabelle Daigneault2, Julie Achim3, Pascale Vézina-Gagnon1, Violaine Guérin4, Jean-Yves Frappier5. 1. Department of Psychology, University of Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. 2. Department of Psychology, University of Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Electronic address: isabelle.daigneault@umontreal.ca. 3. Department of Psychology, University of Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. 4. Paris, France. 5. Department of Psychology, University of Montreal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Centre hospitalier universitaire Sainte-Justine, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Abstract
PURPOSE: This matched cohort study aims to determine whether teenagers with a history of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) are at greater risk of consulting for a pregnancy and related complications than teenagers from the general population. It also aims to compare provoked abortion, live births, and fetal losses of participants who were sexually abused in childhood and those of the general population. METHODS: A total of 661 girls (aged 13-18 years) with a corroborated by Child Protection Services CSA report between 2001 and 2010 were matched to 661 girls from the general population upon age, biological sex, urban Child Protection Services area, and public drug insurance admissibility at reporting date. Pregnancy consultations and complications during pregnancy and delivery were documented using diagnoses from public health insurance administrative databases from January 1996 to March 2013. Socioeconomic status was controlled. RESULTS: Results indicate that compared with participants from the general population, those with a history of CSA were 4.6 times more likely to consult for at least one pregnancy, 5.3 times more likely to consult for at least one complication during pregnancy or delivery, and on average 5.2 and 3.3 times more likely to consult for at least one live birth and provoked abortion, respectively. There were too few observations to compare fetal losses between groups. CONCLUSIONS: Medical interventions for teenage pregnancies and related complications should take into consideration a possible history of CSA to reinforce gynecological follow-up and treatment for girls who were sexually abused and to prevent unfavorable outcomes.
PURPOSE: This matched cohort study aims to determine whether teenagers with a history of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) are at greater risk of consulting for a pregnancy and related complications than teenagers from the general population. It also aims to compare provoked abortion, live births, and fetal losses of participants who were sexually abused in childhood and those of the general population. METHODS: A total of 661 girls (aged 13-18 years) with a corroborated by Child Protection Services CSA report between 2001 and 2010 were matched to 661 girls from the general population upon age, biological sex, urban Child Protection Services area, and public drug insurance admissibility at reporting date. Pregnancy consultations and complications during pregnancy and delivery were documented using diagnoses from public health insurance administrative databases from January 1996 to March 2013. Socioeconomic status was controlled. RESULTS: Results indicate that compared with participants from the general population, those with a history of CSA were 4.6 times more likely to consult for at least one pregnancy, 5.3 times more likely to consult for at least one complication during pregnancy or delivery, and on average 5.2 and 3.3 times more likely to consult for at least one live birth and provoked abortion, respectively. There were too few observations to compare fetal losses between groups. CONCLUSIONS: Medical interventions for teenage pregnancies and related complications should take into consideration a possible history of CSA to reinforce gynecological follow-up and treatment for girls who were sexually abused and to prevent unfavorable outcomes.