Maternal/neonatal incest: A newly recognized form of child sexual abuse

Maternal/neonatal incest: A newly recognized form of child sexual abuse

The least reported form of incest is mother/son, and even more rarely reported is mother/infant sexual abuse. Four women enrolled in the Perinatal Addiction Project of Northwestern University reported manual stimulation of their infant son's genitals, fellatio, and use of the child for masturbation beginning in the neonatal period and lasting through 18 months of age. These 4 women (Group I) were compared to a group of 5 age- and income-matched substance-abusing women who had no evidence of sexually misusing their infant sons (Group II). Two of the Group I women had a history of incest during their own childhood and 3 had been raped. None of the Group II women had a history of incest but 2 of these women had been raped. In Group I, 1 woman was heterosexual, 1 woman homosexual and the other 2 women bisexual. All women in Group II were heterosexual. All women in Group I lived alone and expressed feelings of isolation with no sexual outlet available, while Group II women had a steady sexual relationship and had no evidence of physical or emotional isolation. All Group I women had been diagnosed prenatally as Borderline Personality on the DSM-III code, while 2 of the women in Group II had a diagnosis of Borderline Personality and 3 had no major psychiatric diagnosis. Health care professionals should be alerted to the possibility of maternal/neonatal incest and predisposing factors in the maternal history, including chemical abuse, social isolation and psychological makeup.

Pediatrics, Perinatology, and Child Health