Midwives' experience of encountering women with posttraumatic stress symptoms after childbirth

To describe midwives' experience of encountering women with posttraumatic stress symptoms after childbirth.

Semi-structured interviews with eight midwives with experiences of encountering women with posttraumatic stress symptoms after childbirth. Data were analyzed using thematic content analysis.

The midwives encountered women with severe experiences after a childbirth, which had affected their lives. The midwives thought that they had to reflect on their own attitude and use their gentleness as they responded to the women's stories. By listening to and enabling the women to express their feelings and tell their stories, the midwives thought that they could confirm the women's experience. The midwives thought that they could support women who had lost confidence to give birth but also thought that cesarean section did not solve the women's problems.

Training of midwives is necessary to increase awareness of the cause of women's posttraumatic stress symptoms. It is urgent to optimize the implementation of new research into practical reality to raise the quality of care of women with fear of childbirth. Childbirth is an important experience that can influence a woman's well-being and her connection to the child. Posttraumatic stress symptoms should be identified in an early stage/pregnancy to allow early treatment on the right level of care.