Maternal Childhood Adversity as a Risk for Perinatal Complications and NICU Hospitalization

To examine maternal childhood adversity in relation to increased risk for maternal and infant perinatal complications and newborn Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) admittance.

A sample of 164 women recruited at their first prenatal appointment participated in a longitudinal study through 6 weeks postdelivery. Participants self-reported on their adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), negative health risks (overweight/obesity, smoking, and alcohol use), adverse infant outcomes, NICU admittance, and maternal perinatal complications across three pregnancy assessments and one post-birth assessment. Logistic binomial regression analyses were used to examine associations between maternal ACEs and adverse infant outcomes, NICU admittance, and maternal perinatal complications, controlling for pregnancy-related health risks.

Findings showed that women with severe ACEs exposure (6+ ACEs) had 4 times the odds of reporting at least one adverse infant outcome (odds ratio [OR] = 4.33, 95% CI: 1.02-18.39), almost 9 times the odds of reporting a NICU admission (OR = 8.70, 95% CI: 1.34-56.65), and 4 times the odds of reporting at least one maternal perinatal outcome (OR = 4.37, 95% CI: 1.43-13.39).

The findings demonstrate the extraordinary risk that mothers' ACEs pose for infant and maternal health outcomes over and above the associations with known maternal health risks during pregnancy, including overweight/obesity, smoking, and alcohol use. These results support a biological intergenerational transmission framework, which suggests that risk from maternal adversity is perpetuated in the next generation through biophysical and behavioral mechanisms during pregnancy that negatively affect infant health outcomes.