• David J Frankenberger, Kristen Clements-Nolle, and Wei Yang.
• Department of Epidemiology, School of Community Health Sciences, University of Nevada, Reno, Reno, Nevada.
• Womens Health Issues. 2015 Nov 1; 25 (6): 688-95.

BackgroundThe impact of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on adult alcohol consumption is well-established, but little is known about the association with alcohol use during pregnancy.MethodsUsing data from the 2010 Nevada Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, we assessed the relationship between ACEs and alcohol use during pregnancy in a representative sample of 1,987 adult women. An established ACEs scale was used to assess a range of childhood physical, emotional, and sexual abuse and household dysfunction (range, 0-8). Weighted logistic regression was used to assess the relationship between ACE scores and alcohol use during pregnancy after controlling for drinking before pregnancy and other covariates.ResultsSix percent of participants reported drinking alcohol during pregnancy. After controlling for race/ethnicity, age, employment status, smoking status, and prepregnancy alcohol use, increasing ACEs were positively associated with higher odds of alcohol use during pregnancy (1 ACE: adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 2.92; 95% CI, 1.08-7.87), (2-3 ACEs: AOR, 3.52; 95% CI, 1.46-8.48), and (≥4 ACEs: AOR, 4.79; 95% CI, 2.14-10.72). Prepregnancy drinking was also strongly associated with alcohol use during pregnancy (AOR, 11.95; 95% CI, 5.02-28.43).ConclusionsWe found evidence of a dose-response relationship between ACEs and alcohol use during pregnancy that remained even after controlling for prepregnancy drinking and other covariates. Screening women of childbearing age as well as pregnant women for ACEs may be an effective way to identify and address many of the emotional, behavioral, and physical sequelae of childhood adversity.Copyright © 2015 Jacobs Institute of Women's Health. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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