Perinatal PTSD and the mother-infant bond: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Despite a growing body of literature, understanding of the relationship between maternal symptoms of perinatal posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and the emerging mother-infant bond (MIB) remains limited. This systematic review and meta-analysis elucidates this association considering both general PTSD (gPTSD) symptoms (i.e., not originating from childbirth) as well as childbirth-related PTSD (CB-PTSD) symptoms.

A comprehensive literature search screening for articles published until 10/03/2024 was conducted. Reporting followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Pooled effect sizes were estimated with random effects models.

The systematic review includes 22 studies (9472 participants) and indicates a positive association between perinatal PTSD symptoms and impaired MIB. However, the relationship might be explained by confounding factors (e.g., depressive symptoms, general psychological distress). Meta-analyses suggest a small to moderate positive association (r = .32) between postnatal gPTSD symptoms and impaired MIB (n = 8) and a moderate positive association (r = .38) between CB-PTSD symptoms and impaired MIB (n = 15). Additional exploratory meta-analyses indicate that within the CB-PTSD construct, general rather than childbirth-related PTSD symptoms are more strongly related to MIB (n = 5).

Heterogeneity across studies, methodological complexities in distinguishing perinatal PTSD subtypes, and a small number of studies should be noted.

The results indicate differential associations between gPTSD versus CB-PTSD and MIB. However, further research is required to fully elucidate the relationship between maternal perinatal PTSD and MIB and the role of individual symptom domains to inform the targeted development of interventions.