Women Who Were Abused During Childhood at a Higher Risk for Delivering Low Birth Weight Babies

Generally speaking, childhood abuse of any kind including sexual, physical, mental and verbal put abused women at a higher risk for delivery a low birth weight baby. If the woman was ten years or younger it increases the risk. The study also found that pregnant women who lived in poverty as a child also had an increased risk for delivering a low birth weight baby.

The Study

The study was performed at the University of Washington. The study included one hundred and thirty-six pregnant women of different races. Aside from childhood abuse and growing up in poverty, some of the women had smoked and drank at any early age. Although, some of the women participated in activities that could cause low birth weight before they became pregnant the researchers insisted that those activities (smoking, drinking and even their level of poverty) did not have anything to do with their babies low birth weight it was all linked to the childhood abuse.

Conclusion

This is the first study that has been done on the effects of an abused girl and how it affects the children, she gives birth to later in life. The purpose of the study is for these women and all women who were abused as children to be aware of the findings and when they become pregnant, they take the extra steps necessary to ensure that their babies are born weighting more than five and a half pounds. This can be achieved by the woman being within her normal weight range when she becomes pregnant and with the help of her doctor and a dietarian. Low birth weight babies if they survive the first year of life often have a good deal of health problems later in life such as diabetes and obesity. With knowledge and proper care, a once abused child can deliver a healthy baby within a healthy weight range.

Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/03/110329095446.htm