Childhood trauma affects timing of motherhood

Women who have experienced childhood trauma become mothers earlier than those with a more stable childhood environment, according to the findings of a new study conducted in collaboration between the University of Turku and the University of Helsinki.

The trauma children experience from living in war zones, natural disasters or perhaps even epidemics can have unexpected effects that resurface later in their lives, said the University of Turku in a press release.

During the Second World War, thousands of Finnish women and girls volunteered to aid in the war efforts as part of the paramilitary organisation ‘Lotta Svärd’ exposing some of them to the trauma of war.

Researcher and lead author of the study Robert Lynch from the University of Turku used extensive data collected on these volunteers to study the effects of childhood trauma on adults.

The study found that young girls and women who served in the war became mothers earlier and had more children compared to women of the same age who did not participate in the war efforts.

“If we can measure the effects of trauma on basic things such as the timing of motherhood, then it almost certainly has major effects on many of our other important behaviours, such as overall aversion to risk, sociality or the pace of sexual development,” said Lynch.