IMPACT OF SEXUALIZED VIOLENCE ON PREGNANCY, BIRTH AND MOTHER-CHILD BONDING

Dagmar Dorn, EUDWM director, who is a midwife, had the opportunity to gain more understanding about the effects of violence on pregnant women and the birthing process during a recent training seminar for midwives.
Sexual violence has a great influence on pregnancy, birth and mother-child bonding. A survivor’s conscious memory of her past abuse is often partly or totally blocked, which may result from dissociation during the abuse or other mechanisms to protect herself when the trauma is too horrible to deal with. Blocked memories tend to surface under circumstances of emotional or physical stress, or during particular life transitions, such as pregnancy, birth and parenthood, including breastfeeding.
It is important that violence is recognized as a health risk, and that medical personnel are trained to consider the prevalence and effects of violence and trauma. Mothers (and fathers) who have experienced violence have a higher risk of abusing their own children. That is why education and prevention can mitigate the far-reaching consequences of violence with regard to the next generations.