The relationship of adverse childhood experiences of pregnant women with healthy lifestyle behaviours and birth attitudes: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Introduction This study was conducted to determine the relationship between negative childhood experiences of pregnant women and health-promoting lifestyle behaviours and childbirth attitudes. Methods The cross-sectional study was conducted with 468 pregnant women between March 2023 and January 2024. Data were collected using a descriptive characteristics form, an adverse childhood experiences questionnaire (ACEQ), a health-promoting lifestyle profile (HPLP-II), and a childbirth attitude questionnaire (CAQ). The study reporting followed the STROBE checklist. Results Participants’ mean scores were as follows: ACEQ 1.10±1.84, CAQ 39.91±12.18, and HPLP-II 138.64±23.71. Linear regression analysis showed that HPLP-II scores were significantly lower in non-employed women (β=−0.194; 95% CI: −14.06, −5.44; p=0.000) and smokers (β=−0.104; 95% CI: −12.05, −1.05; p=0.020). Lower income perception was significantly associated with decreased HPLP-II scores (β=−0.170; 95% CI: −11.34 to −3.48; p=0.000). Additionally, higher ACEQ scores were also significantly related to lower HPLP-II scores (β=−0.092; 95% CI: −2.29 to −0.06; p=0.037). Regarding CAQ, scores were significantly higher among participants with lower income perception (β=−0.200; 95% CI: −6.35, −2.59; p=0.000), those who consumed alcohol during pregnancy (β=−0.322; 95% CI: −16.36, −9.70; p=0.000), and those with higher ACEQ scores (β=0.158; 95% CI: 1.09, 1.58; p=0.000). Discussion Pregnant women’s negative childhood experiences affect both birth anxiety and health-promoting lifestyle behaviours. © 2026 Cevik, Karaca. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.