Assessing mother’s childbirth-related posttraumatic stress disorder during the first year postpartum: a systematic review

ABSTRACT

Background and aim

PTSD after childbirth is a significant but often under-recognised mental health problem. This systematic review aims to examine the measures used to assess childbirth-related PTSD (CB-PTSD) and posttraumatic stress symptoms (CB-PTSS) in mothers in the first year postpartum and to evaluate their psychometric properties. Methods: Following PRISMA guidelines, a comprehensive search of multiple databases and grey literature sources was conducted. Studies that involved mothers in the first year postpartum and reported measures of CB-PTSD and/or CB-PTSS were included. Quality assessment was based on the CASP Checklist.

Results

149 studies met the inclusion criteria. Self-report questionnaires, particularly the IES and its revisions, were the most commonly used measurement instruments. In recent years, however, specialised instruments such as the City Birth Trauma Scale have emerged that were developed specifically for assessing CB-PTSD. Psychometric properties varied from study to study, with some lacking detailed information on validity and reliability.

Conclusion

The results emphasises the importance of using validated and tailored tools for the assessment of CB-PTSD. Whilst self-report questionnaires remain widely used, the development and use of specialised instruments such as the City BiTS provide greater precision in the assessment of CB-PTSD symptoms. Future research should focus on refining measurement tools, conducting longitudinal studies to explore symptom trajectories, and investigating the effectiveness of early intervention strategies. By refining measurement methods and intervention approaches, clinicians can better support mothers with CB-PTSD and ultimately fostering improve the mental health outcomes for both mothers and their families.

KEYWORDS:

• Childbirth-related PTSD
• systematic review
• mental health
• postpartum period
• measures
• tools

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Abbreviations

CB-PTSD:	=	Childbirth-related Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
CB-PTSS:	=	Childbirth-related Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/02646838.2024.2382876

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.