Traumatic Childbirth Experience and Childbirth-Related Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): A Contemporary Overview

Abstract

With this manuscript we provide an overview of the prevalence, symptoms, risk factors, screening, support, and treatment for women with a traumatic childbirth experience or childbirth-related PTSD. This overview is based on both recent literature and the authors’ clinical experiences from the fields of obstetrics, psychiatry and medical psychology to provide up-to-date knowledge about recognizing, preventing and treating CB-PTSD from a clinical perspective. We pay substantial attention to prevention as there are many things health care professionals can do or not do to contribute to a positive childbirth experience, and save women, their infants and families from a sub-optimal start due to childbirth-related trauma.