Pregnant women's perspectives on screening for adverse childhood experiences and resilience during prenatal care.

Objective: To examine the acceptability of routine screening for adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and resilience during prenatal care.

Method: This study examined pregnant women's perspectives ( = 119) on ACEs and resilience screening during prenatal care in two medical centers via postscreening telephone surveys. Chi-square tests and Fisher's Exact Tests examined whether responses varied with ACEs (0 [62.2%], 1-2 [21.0%], 3+ [16.8%]) or resilience (high [64.7%] vs. low [35.3%]).

Results: The sample ( = 119) was 36.1% non-Hispanic White, 26.1% Hispanic, 8.4% Black, 23.5% Asian/Pacific Islander, and 5.9% Other, with a median age of 31 (IQR: 28-34) and average neighborhood median household income of $100,734 (SD = $37,079). Most women thought prenatal care should include conversations about ACEs (82.2%) and resilience (94.0%) and very strongly believed that good coping skills can help reduce the harmful effects of childhood stress (79.0%). Nearly half (41.2%) used ≥1 mental health resource from the resource handout provided at screening. Some women thought conversations could be improved if they took place with a mental health professional (37.3%), with more provider empathy (40.7%), more education about ACEs and health (55.1%), and if the screening included additional stressors (53.4%). Notably, most women (73.5%) would like their partner to also receive the screening. Women with more ACEs were more likely to want a longer conversation, and those with low versus high resilience were more likely to prefer that a mental health professional conduct the screening.

Conclusions: Results indicate that women value ACEs screening during prenatal care and provide actionable recommendations to improve future screenings and discussions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).