PTSD Following Childbirth, Can it be Prevented and Can it be treated? A Case Report
Journal Title: Biomedical Journal of Scientific & Technical Research (BJSTR) - Year 2017, Vol 1, Issue 3
Abstract
Around 15-20% of women who had childbirth experience childbirth as traumatic per DSM-IV criteria [1]. No wonder there have been increasing recognition of the importance of mother’s PTSD following child birth. The prevalence of PTSD in women following childbirth has been estimated to happen in between 1.5 and 5.6% of these births [2-9]. Women may perceive their labour as traumatic because of many reasons. One of these is the mode of birth, as clearly first and more prolonged labour is more likely to be perceived as more traumatic. Also, medical and nursing interventions during labour or birth can also be of immense importance. And lastly, women’s perceived manner of treatment by healthcare professions during and after childbirth [10]. The aetiology can further be classified traditionally in psychiatry in these 3 criteria [11]. a) Predisposing factors: these are factors that are there before or during pregnancy, this includes previous traumatic experience in patient’s psychiatric history [12]. b) Precipitating factors (childbirth trauma): Women perceived trauma during complicated delivery. Caesarean section, forceps delivery, vaginal examination, being naked in the presence of others, perceived sever pain and the sense of lack of control during labour all were found to be significant factors in developing PTSD [13]. c) Maintaining factors: Post natal factors that work as maintaining the problem. These are studied to involve the need after birth to attend hospital, words associated with labour or delivery. It also includes women avoiding of sexual contact for fear of further pregnancies and the fear of responsibility and the over protective behaviour towards the new-born [13]. The Case: This is a 30 Years Old married housewife who lives with her husband and daughter in the small city of Chelmsford in the borough of Essex, North East of London. Her problems started following the birth of her daughter in September 2014 when she noticed a change in her mood and increasing anxiety. The maternity ward in Broomfield Hospital where she delivered her daughter initially induced labour that was tried and she felt that it was very painful. The patient said that she was not informed that induced labour was more painful than natural labour and that the midwives told her that it is only ‘uncomfortable’ and they delayed giving her adequate pain relief. Thus, she felt that her delivery of daughter, which was subsequently via emergency caesarean section, was very painful, traumatic and not what she had planned or hoped for as a delivery. The PTSD symptoms started 6 weeks after labour and continue till she was seen by the psychiatric services. She continues to have thoughts about the treatment she received on the maternity ward which resulted in her finding it difficult to bond with her newborn daughter [14-16].
Authors and Affiliations
Walid Khalid Abdul-Hamid
Keywords
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- EP ID EP571656
- DOI 10.26717/BJSTR.2017.01.000283
- Views 158
- Downloads 0
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