Peer-reviewed article
Healing The Past By Nurturing The Future: A qualitative systematic review and meta-synthesis of pregnancy, birth and early postpartum experiences and views of parents with a history of childhood maltreatment
Catherine Chamberlain, Naomi Ralph, Stacey Hokke, Yvonne Clark, Graham Gee et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This systematic review of 50 qualitative studies examines how parents who experienced childhood maltreatment navigate pregnancy, birth, and early parenthood. The review found that while many parents aspire to provide safe and nurturing care for their children, they often face serious challenges including trauma-related difficulties. The research identified seven themes describing parents' experiences, including creating safety, building connections, and personal empowerment during this critical life period.
Key points
- 27 studies focused on pregnancy, birth and early postpartum experiences of parents with childhood maltreatment histories
- Seven core themes identified: New beginnings, Changing roles and identities, Feeling connected, Compassionate care, Empowerment, Creating safety, and Reweaving a future
- Parents reported both positive strategies for providing safe and nurturing care and serious challenges related to their own trauma
- The perinatal period is identified as a unique life-course opportunity for healing and breaking cycles of intergenerational trauma
- Understanding parents' experiences is critical for developing acceptable and effective support strategies
Limitations
The review focuses only on qualitative studies and reports on a subset of 27 studies examining only pregnancy through early postpartum; it cannot establish the effectiveness of specific interventions or provide quantitative data on outcomes. The included studies are predominantly from English-language publications and high-income countries, which may limit generalisability.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Child maltreatment can have serious effects on development and physical, social and emotional wellbeing. Any long-lasting relational effects can impede the capacity to nurture children, potentially leading to 'intergenerational trauma'. Conversely, the transition to parenthood during pregnancy, birth and the early postpartum period offers a unique life-course opportunity for healing. This systematic review aims to understand the pregnancy, birth and early postpartum experiences of parents who reported maltreatment in their own childhood. METHODS: A protocol, based on the ENTREQ statement, was registered with PROSPERO. We searched Medline, PsycINFO, CINAHL, EMBASE, NHS Evidence and key Web of Science databases from date of inception to June 2018 to identify qualitative studies exploring perinatal experiences of parents who were maltreated in their own childhood. Two reviewers independently screened articles for inclusion and extracted data. Data were synthesised using grounded theory and thematic analysis approaches. FINDINGS: The search yielded 18329 articles, 568 full text articles were reviewed, and 50 studies (60 articles) met inclusion criteria for this review. Due to the large number of studies across the whole perinatal period (pregnancy to two years postpartum), this paper reports findings for experiences during pregnancy, birth and early postpartum (27 studies). Parents described positive experiences and strategies to help them achieve their hopes and dreams of providing safe, loving and nurturing care for their children. However, many parents experienced serious challenges. Seven core analytic themes encapsulated these diverse and dynamic experiences: New beginnings; Changing roles and identities; Feeling connected; Compassionate care; Empowerment; Creating safety; and Reweaving a future. CONCLUSIONS: Pregnancy birth and the early postpartum period is a unique life-course healing opportunity for parents with a history of maltreatment. Understanding parent's experiences and views of perinatal care and early parenting is critical for informing the development of acceptable and effective support strategies.