Trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy for peripartum-onset post-traumatic stress disorder: a narrative review

Peripartum-onset post-traumatic stress disorder is a serious condition that warrants prompt diagnosis and treatment due to its adverse health outcomes for mothers and infants. When the trauma is associated with pregnancy and childbirth, it is known as childbirth-related post-traumatic stress disorder. Currently, psychotherapy is considered a first-line treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder and is also recommended for the peripartum population. One of the psychotherapeutic modalities whose effectiveness has been tested in the perinatal population is trauma-focused cognitive-behavioral therapy.

The authors provide a narrative review of trauma-focused cognitive-behavioral therapy for women with peripartum-onset post-traumatic stress disorder. It is based on a two-part literature search using Web of Science, Medline, and PsycINFO, using the software Covidence to facilitate the process of article selection.

Despite positive literature on the value of trauma-focused cognitive behavior therapy for women with peripartum-onset post-traumatic stress disorder, current studies are limited by small sample sizes and short follow-up periods. These studies neither included pregnant women nor did they distinguish between non-childbirth‑related post-traumatic stress disorder and childbirth-related post-traumatic stress disorder. Larger studies with longer follow-up periods are required to establish whether it is a practical treatment strategy for post-traumatic stress in the peripartum.