Postpartum post-traumatic stress disorder: Associated perinatal factors and quality of life

The relationship between obstetric variables and postpartum post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and its influence on quality of life (QoL), have scarcely been studied.

Determine the prevalence of PTSD at postpartum weeks 4 and 6, and its relation with perinatal variables and quality of life METHOD: A cross-sectional study with 2990 Spanish puerperal women in Spain. Data were collected on socio-demographic and obstetric variables, and on newborns. An online ad hoc questionnaire was used, including the Perinatal Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Questionnaire (PPQ) and SF-36. The crude and adjusted odds ratios were estimated by binary logistic regression.

10.6% (318) of the women appeared at risk for PTSD symptoms. Factors like having a respected birth plan (aOR: 0.52; 95%CI: 0.34, 0.80), using epidural analgesia (aOR: 0.64; 95%CI: 0.44, 0.92) and performing skin-to-skin contact (aOR: 0.37; 95%CI: 0.28, 0.50) were protective factors against PTSD, among others. Instrumental birth (aOR: 2.50; 95%CI: 1.70, 3.69) and caesarean section (aOR: 3.79; 95%CI: 2.43, 5.92) were found to be risk factors, among others. The area under the ROC curve in this model was 0.79 (95%CI: 0.76, 0.81). The women with PTSD presented a mean difference for QoL of -13.37 points less than those without PTSD (95%CI: -11.08, -15.65).

The women with PTSD symptoms had a worse quality of life at postpartum weeks 4-6. Birth type, analgesia methods and humanising practices, like skin-to-skin contact and using respected birth plans, were related with presence of the postpartum PTSD risk.