Post-traumatic stress disorder following childbirth

Abstract

Background Childbirth experience could be complicated and even traumatic. This study explored the possible risk factors for post-traumatic stress disorder following childbirth (PTSD-FC) in mothers and partners. Methods Through a cross-sectional online survey biographical, medical, psychological, obstetrical and trauma history data were collected. The PTSD-FC, postnatal depression, social support, and perceived mother-infant bond in 916 mothers and 64 partners were measured through self-reported psychometric assessments. Results Our findings highlight the possible impact of several risk factors such as emergency childbirth, past traumatic experiences and distressing events during childbirth on PTSD-FC. The difficulties in mother-infant bond and the postpartum depression were highly associated with the total score of PTSD-FC symptoms for mothers. While for partners, post-partum depression was highly associated with the total score of PTSD-FC. Conclusions Our study demonstrated significant links between psychological, traumatic and birth-related risk factors as well as the perceived social support and the possible PTSD following childbirth in mothers and partners. Given that, a specific attention to PTSD-FC and psychological distress following childbirth should be given to mothers and their partners following childbirth.

Recognizing childbirth-related posttraumatic stress disorder

“…10 ■ Risk factors/predictors of posttraumatic stress response due to birth trauma Women at greatest risk for posttraumatic stress symptoms with long-term sequelae include those with preexisting psychiatric morbidity, such as depression and anxiety, prior trauma-especially sexual abuse, or preterm birth, as well as those experiencing childbirth for the fi rst time. 11,12 Preeclampsia increases risk for CR-PTSD as does prior pregnancy loss. 13,14 Women with infants in the neonatal ICU reported signifi cantly more posttraumatic stress symptoms.…”

Longitudinal path analysis for the directional association of depression, anxiety and posttraumatic stress disorder with their comorbidities and associated factors among postpartum women in Northwest Ethiopia: A cross-lagged autoregressive modelling study

“…During the postpartum period, women can develop PTSD symptoms due to a difficult or traumatic births such as; emergency cesarean section or instrumental deliveries during which women think that they or their baby might die or be seriously hurt [31][32][33][34][35][36][37]. Pregnancy or childbirth complications such as hyperemesis during pregnancy and preeclampsia are associated with PTSD symptoms in the postpartum period [25,31,[37][38][39][40][41][42][43]. Subjective birth experience (including lack of control during delivery), operative birth, low social support and dissociation were also reported as predictors of PTSD symptoms in the postpartum period [1,26,31,38].…”

“I shut it out”: expectant mothers’ fear of childbirth after a traumatic birth—a phenomenological study

“…A traumatic birth can lead to a diverse set of negative outcomes, including disrupting a woman’s sense of identity (Thomson & Downe, 2010 ), enduring mental health problems (Beck, 2015 ; Berg & Lundgren, 2004 ; Ertan et al, 2021 ), and maternal–child relationship difficulties (Nicholls & Ayers, 2007 ); it can also impact women’s reproductive decisions (Fenech & Thomson, 2014 ; Gottvall & Waldenström, 2002 ). A birth can be described as traumatic if a woman experiences a strong sense of anxiety, helplessness, loss of control, powerlessness or fear (Beck, 2015 ).…”