title: Fear of childbirth, women's preference for cesarean section and childhood abuse: a longitudinal study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine the association between childhood abuse and fear of childbirth and the wish for cesarean section during second pregnancy.
  
  
  METHODS
  A longitudinal cohort study using data from the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa) conducted by the Norwegian Institute of Public Health.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifty maternity units in Norway, 1999-2006.
  
  
  METHODS
  We included 4,876 women who participated in the MoBa study during their first and second pregnancy.
  
  
  METHODS
  Postal questionnaires at 18 and 30 weeks' gestation and 6 months postpartum linked to the Medical Birth Registry of Norway.
  
  
  METHODS
  Associations between childhood abuse and women's fear of childbirth and preference for cesarean section during second pregnancy were assessed using regression analyses, adjusting for confounding factors such as mode of delivery and birth experience of first pregnancy.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of 4,876 women, 1,023 (21%) reported some form of childhood abuse. Compared to women without a history of childhood abuse, childhood-abused women more frequently reported fear of childbirth (23% vs. 15%, p < 0.001) and the wish for cesarean section (6.4% vs. 4.0%, p < 0.002) during second pregnancy. The association between childhood abuse and fear of childbirth and preference for cesarean section remained significant after adjusting for mode of first delivery and experience of first birth (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 1.53, 95%CI 1.24-1.90 and 1.57, 1.09-2.27, respectively).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Childhood abuse is associated with fear of childbirth and preference for cesarean section during second pregnancy. Mode of delivery and postpartum self-reported birth experience of the first pregnancy did not alter this association significantly.
authors.affiliation: University of Tromsø, Norway. Mirjam.lukasse@ism.no
authors.forename: Mirjam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lukasse
authors.forename: Siri
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Vangen
authors.forename: Pål
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Øian
authors.forename: Berit
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Schei
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002585:Cesarean Section; D002648:Child; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000523:psychology*; D005239:Fear / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D009664:Norway; D010298:Parity; D036801:Parturition / Q000523:psychology*; D057240:Patient Preference / Q000523:psychology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D055815:Young Adult