Childhood sexual abuse, sexual assault, rape and its relevance to childbearing fear

Abstract

The history and background of some life events will inevitably place some women at greater risk of anxiety, worry and fear. Experiences in childhood such as violence within the family, sexual abuse during childhood, grief and bereavement episodes are just some of these life events. When the ego of the child is in development, the way in which the child is nurtured and experiences life is critical in how they then make the transitions between each development phase. Having parents who have their own unmet needs will undoubtedly show in the way that they parent and the child or children of those parents will most certainly develop and show deficits that may arise in adulthood. What are the implications of this in reference to anxiety and fear during childbirth? How does it manifest and what are clinicians likely to see when these women are in our maternity health care systems?.