https://aub.ie/MilitaryREACH-CreechTRIP2021

Creech, S. K., Kroll, D. A., Benzer, J. K., Pulverman, C. S., Mattocks, K., & Kroll-Desrosiers, A. (2022). The impact of military sexual trauma on parent-infant bonding in a sample of perinatal women veterans. Depression & Anxiety, 39(3), 201-210. https://doi.org/10.1002/da.23218

Using a sample of 697 Veteran mothers, this longitudinal study examined the associations between military sexual trauma (MST; i.e., trauma as a result of experiences of sexual harassment or assault during military service), mental health factors (e.g., posttraumatic stress disorder [PTSD], perinatal depressive symptoms, stress during pregnancy), and mother-infant bonding impairment. Additional analyses examined whether depressive symptoms mediated the associations between MST and PTSD and mother-infant bonding impairment. Data were collected via prenatal (i.e., 12 weeks into pregnancy) and postpartum (i.e., 12 weeks after giving birth) telephone questionnaires. Overall, women Veterans who had experienced MST or PTSD reported greater depressive symptoms after the birth of their child and, in turn, reported more challenges with mother-infant bonding than those who had experienced neither MST nor PTSD.

https://doi.org/10.1002/da.23218

Children
Deployment
Trauma
Veterans
Parents
Physical health
Mental health

Multiple branches
Air Force
Army
Marine Corps
Navy
Coast Guard

Veteran

Veteran

Adulthood (18 yrs & older)
Young adulthood (18 - 29 yrs)
Thirties (30 - 39 yrs)

Longitudinal study
Quantitative Study
Secondary Analysis

Creech, Suzannah K., Kroll-Desrosiers, Aimee, Benzer, Justin K., Pulverman, Carey S., Mattocks, Kristin

Background The experience of sexual assault and harassment during military service (military sexual trauma [MST]) is associated with increased risk for perinatal and reproductive health problems among women veterans. The objective of this study was to examine the associations between mothers’ MST exposure and mother-infant bonding, as well as to examine whether there are any salient sociodemographic or military service characteristics among women veterans with greater impairment to mother-infant bonding, including stress during pregnancy and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) diagnosis. Methods This study was a secondary analysis of data collected from prospective, longitudinal study of women veterans using VHA maternity care benefits at 15 VHA medical centers across the US between January 2016 and February 2020. Participants were 697 pregnant veterans using VHA maternity care benefits. Results MST was associated with higher maternal depression, and higher maternal depression was associated with poorer mother-infant bonding. The effect of MST on bonding was indirect through depression. PTSD diagnosis and life stressors during pregnancy also had significant indirect pathways with bonding through maternal depression. Conclusions Results underscore the need for access to high quality and trauma-informed perinatal mental health treatment for women veterans, for education on the unique risks conveyed by MST provided to civilian providers treating this population outside VA, and for further research to understand how to ameliorate the harmful effects of MST on perinatal women veterans and their children.

Wiley Periodicals LLC

Article
REACH Publication

VHA VISN 17 Center of Excellence for Research on Returning War Veterans and the Central Texas Veterans Health Care System, SKC
VA Central Western Massachusetts Healthcare System, AKD
VHA VISN 17 Center of Excellence for Research on Returning War Veterans and the Central Texas Veterans Health Care System, JKB
VHA VISN 17 Center of Excellence for Research on Returning War Veterans and the Central Texas Veterans Health Care System, CSP
VA Central Western Massachusetts Healthcare System, KM