Pregnant women after physical and sexual abuse in Germany.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The aim of our study was to evaluate the prevalence of abuse among pregnant women in Germany attending our antenatal outpatient clinic and to observe whether a history of abuse had consequences for women's feelings about their pregnancy. METHODS: 455 women between the 35th and 42nd weeks of gestational age were included and were asked to fill out an anonymous questionnaire concerning their pregnancy, their actual psychological state, and their history of physical/sexual abuse. 600 questionnaires were distributed (return rate 75.8%), 70 women (10.4%) were excluded because of male companionship to ensure their safety in case that they were currently in an abusive relationship with the attending man. RESULTS: 88 women (19.3%) reported a history of sexual and/or physical abuse. Pregnant women after physical and/or sexual abuse significantly more frequently associate negative feelings with their pregnancy than nonabused women. The Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale (HADS) and the SCL-K-9 demonstrated significantly more negative feelings of depression and anxiety, strain, loneliness and less expectation of happiness for their future in abused women. CONCLUSION: Physical and sexual abuse are relevant problems among women in obstetric care that may complicate their pregnancies and make them feel more depressive.

Physical and sexual abuse in patients with overactive bladder: is there an association?

The known sequelae of sexual abuse include acute and chronic injury. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the association of overactive bladder symptoms (OABs) with a history of physical or sexual abuse. Two hundred and forty-three women who attended the gynaecological out-patient clinic or the urogynaecological clinic were recruited for our study. Based on their clinical examination, they were assigned to three groups of patients with either OAB or with stress urinary incontinence (SUI) without concomitant urgency symptoms (SUI), or without history of incontinence (control group). Afterwards, they completed an anonymous questionnaire about bladder function and physical/sexual violence. Significantly more women (30.6%, 26/85) with OAB had previously been physically or sexually abused than women with SUI (17.8%, 18/101) and of the control group (17.5%, 10/57). Our study showed that significantly more women with OAB report physical and sexual abuse than subjects with stress incontinence or no urinary complaints. Women with stress incontinence had the same rate of self-reported physical/sexual abuse as continent controls.