Women's experiences of living with postnatal PTSD

Abstract

the mental health of new mothers is a public health concern as it is likely to have an impact on the mother herself, her close relationships and the behavioural and emotional health of her children. Post-traumatic stress disorder affects some women after childbirth. Objective the aim of this study was to explore how women were affected by the memories of a birth that they perceived as traumatic. Design in this paper the authors report the qualitative analysis of interview data from seven postnatal women reporting symptoms of PTSD. Participants were recruited from a large NHS Trust in the South West of England. Thematic analysis was used to analyse interview data collected from the seven women reporting symptoms of postnatal PTSD. Findings complicating factors such as relationship difficulties and pre-existing health problems appeared to contribute to postnatal post-traumatic stress disorder and some women reported difficulty expressing emotions. The study findings confirm that women value good relationships with midwives during labour. Key conclusions and implications for practice antenatal screening for personality traits such as alexithymia (difficulty expressing emotions) may be useful and midwives should be alert to current life events that may increase women's vulnerability to post-traumatic stress disorder.