Women veterans with military sexual trauma face higher pregnancy risks

Data from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs show that women who experienced military sexual trauma face higher risks for complications during pregnancy, according to WABE.

Military sexual trauma, or MST, refers to experiences of sexual assault or harrassment experienced during military service.

According to VA data, 1 in 50 men and 1 in 3 women nationwide report experiencing MST.

“Women are substantially more likely to have experienced MST. It can be very long-term pain and human suffering that result from this,” said Kayla Williams, senior policy advisor at the Vet Voice Foundation and former director of the VA Center for Women Veterans. 

Although the military has implemented policy reforms to address MST, progress is slow.

“When your workplace is the military and you live and work around the same people all the time and potentially the person who’s harassing you is your boss, it’s an all-consuming environment that is just different than most other workplaces,” she said, “which is one of the reasons that military sexual trauma is so highly predictive of posttraumatic stress disorder. You’re more likely to develop PTSD if you experience MST than combat trauma or civilian sexual trauma.”

VA research shows that women who experienced MST had an increased risk of spontaneous preterm birth, preeclampsia and gestational diabetes. 

Dr. Kelsey Sprang Jones with Emory University School of Medicine told WABE that maternal trauma can also harm babies.

In Georgia, mental health conditions are among the leading causes of pregnancy complications and maternal deaths. The risks are even higher for women veterans who have post-traumatic stress disorder.