Suicide ideation among pregnant women: The role of different experiences of childhood abuse

Abstract

Background: Childhood abuse has a negative effect on mental health during pregnancy; however, the association between childhood abuse and suicide ideation has received relatively little attention.

Method: Women at 28 weeks or more into their pregnancy were recruited from a prenatal clinic in Shandong province, China. Suicide ideation was measured using item 9 of the Patient Health Questionnaire-9. Childhood abuse was measured using childhood abuse subscales of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire.

Results: Women with any experience of childhood abuse had high risk of suicide ideation (OR = 2.44, 95%CI: 1.31-4.55). The association of continuous childhood abuse scores with suicide ideation was consistent with the finding using dichotomous childhood abuse (OR = 1.07, 95%CI: 1.02-1.12). After adjustment for depression, pregnant women with only physical abuse experience had high risk of suicide ideation (OR = 3.63, 95%CI: 1.32-10.03). Pregnant women with both childhood abuse and depression had increased risk of suicide ideation compared to those with neither risk factor (OR = 17.78, 95%CI 7.20-43.92).

Limitations: Using a self-report measure to assess childhood abuse is susceptible to recall bias. Using a single item to measure suicide ideation and assessing only suicide ideation were limitations of the study.

Conclusions: Pregnant women who experienced childhood abuse, especially physical abuse, had a high risk of suicide ideation during pregnancy. Screening for both childhood abuse and antenatal depression may be an effective way to identify high-risk groups with suicide ideation.

Keywords: Childhood abuse; Pregnancy; Suicidality; Suicide ideation.