Perception of traumatic childbirth of women and its relationship with postpartum depression

Abstract

Traumatic birth has various effects on women, and postpartum depression is one of them. The present study had two aims: 1) to determine the level of traumatic childbirth perception and postpartum depression in women and the factors affecting them and 2) to reveal the relationship between traumatic childbirth perception and postpartum depression. Five hundred fifty women, recruited between March 2018 and February 2019, completed the following form and scales one month after delivery: the general and obstetric information form, the Perception of Traumatic Childbirth Scale (PTCS), and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). The mean PTCS scores of the women included in the study were 63.45 ± 28.116 with a median value of 65, and the prevalence of traumatic childbirth was 33.8%. The risk of postpartum depression was determined in 25.3% of the women. There was a significant relationship between the participants' traumatic childbirth perception and their EPDS scores (p < .05). It was determined that the probability of experiencing postpartum depression increased four to five times in women with a high or very high level of traumatic childbirth perception (OR = 4.31; CI 95% 1.912 to 9.701; p = .000)(OR = 5.57; CI 95% 2.090 to 14.818; p = .001). The findings revealed that one-third of the participant women had traumatic childbirth perception, and the risk of postpartum depression increased as the level of traumatic birth perception increased.

Keywords: Childbirth pain; fear of childbirth; midwifery; postpartum depression; traumatic childbirth.