Pregnancy, Birth and Parenthood after Childhood Sexual Abuse

Course Overview
This resulting resource will help women who have experienced childhood sexual abuse (CSA) to prepare for pregnancy, birth and parenthood.
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  • Written by experts
  • Introductory
  • 100% online
  • Video content
  • Approx. 1-2 hours to complete
  • Completion certificate
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About this course
Childhood sexual abuse affects approximately 20% of women but is hidden in society and shrouded in silence. Few women disclose childhood sexual abuse to healthcare professionals but the potential for trauma in encounters with them is well documented. The study confirmed silence and demonstrated that many aspects of maternity care were reminiscent of abuse. However, childbirth can be healing for women who experienced sensitive care. There is no direct intervention to support these women: they are often unidentifiable. What they need depends on the individual woman, may change from day to day and is context-specific. Healthcare professionals may feel ill-equipped to deal effectively with disclosures of childhood sexual abuse and educational resources are lacking.
This project created an opportunity to ‘voice the silence’ through cultural media, address this deficit and influences the social impact of childhood sexual abuse.This resulting resource will help women who have experienced childhood sexual abuse (CSA) to prepare for pregnancy, birth and parenthood.
The effects of CSA can last a long time and having a baby can be a particularly difficult and lonely time. The resource shares real-life experiences of pregnancy, birth and parenthood and has been created through the collaboration of women who have experienced CSA, midwives and researchers.
The resource includes:
  • Sections on pregnancy, labour and becoming a parent
  • Links to further resources and sources of information
  • Women’s experiences brought to life through film and animation
  • Interactive content
Choose how and where you work through the resource.This project is a collaboration between the Florence Nightingale Faculty of Nursing & Midwifery at King's College London and J Motion, brokered by the Cultural Institute King's. The development of this resource was funded by a Wellcome Trust Engaging Science People Award.

Course authors and designers

Women with lived experience of childhood sexual abuse

Dr Elsa Montgomery

Principal Investigator; Senior Lecturer | King's College London
Dr Elsa Montgomery's overall aim is to ensure that women, babies and their families receive excellent care during their encounters with maternity services through pregnancy, birth and beyond. She believes this can be achieved through both education and research

Yan-Shing Chang

Lecturer in Child and Family Health | King's College London
Yan-Shing's current research focuses on maternal, child and family health and well being, taking a life course approach, in the global health context. She works with international collaborators including those from low and middle income countries

Fay Maxted OBE

Chief Executive Officer | The Survivors Trust

Florin Ivan

Project Manager, Learning Hub | King's Health Partners






Sarah Cheadle

Communications Officer | The Survivors Trust

From other areas:

Kathryn Gutteridge, President, Royal College of Midwives; Lucy Duckworth, researcher and member of the Victims and Survivors' Consultative Panel for the Independent Inquiry into Childhood Sexual Abuse; Julia Seng, Professor of Nursing, Obstetrics and Women's Studies at the University of Michigan, USA; Jonathan Staples

Jmotion Video Production Company

J Motion is a video production company who provide a dynamic fusion of experienced broadcast-industry professionals with a background in journalism and programme-making. They are a talented team who employ state-of-the-art hardware and software and digital marketing experts to unlock their clients’ vision