An Epidemiologic Assessment of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder following Childbearing

Childbearing is a potentially traumatic event in the lives of women; and can lead to post traumatic stress disorder in some women. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and predisposing factors of post traumatic stress disorder after childbearing in women in Bushehr.Methods & Materials: In this cross-sectional study, 400 women who attended the medical centers 6-8 weeks after delivery were recruited to the study. Participants with traumatic delivery were included in the study. They completed the posttraumatic symptoms scale-I (PSS-I), and predisposing factors questionnaire. Data were analyzed in two groups of women with the PTSD and without PTSD using Chi-square and Fisher's exact test with P=0.05. The results of this study showed that 54.4% of women had experienced a traumatic delivery; and one-third of the women were affected to PTSD after childbearing. There were significant differences between obstetrical factors including complications of pregnancy, wanted pregnancy, post-partum complications, interval of the last two pregnancies less than two years; neonatal factors including type of feeding, issues of child care, birth weight; and psychological factors including stressful life events, and maternity social support with the PTSD (P<0.05). Income had statistically significant association with the PTSD (P<0.05). Some of obstetrical, neonatal and psychological factors are associated with occurrence of the PTSD after delivery