Prevalence and risk factors of childbirth-related post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms - comparison study of Central-Eastern European countries: Poland, Slovakia, and Lithuania

Abstract

Background. Some women perceive childbirth as a traumatic experience, which can lead to development of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Research has identified numerous risk factors for childbirth-related PTSD (CB-PTSD), essential for identifying women at risk. Aim. In a cross-sectional comparative study, we aim to assess the prevalence of CB-PTSD among women from Central-Eastern European countries: Poland, Slovakia, and Lithuania and identify psychological, obstetric and sociodemographic factors associated with the development of CB-PTSD symptom in a cross-national perspective. Methods. 1,064 mothers 6 to 12 weeks postpartum from the Central-Eastern European countries (convenience samples) completed the City Birth Trauma Scale (City BiTS), Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS), the Birth Satisfaction Scale-Revised (BSS-R) and sociodemographic and pregnancy/birth-related characteristics questionnaire. Results. The prevalence of clinical CB-PTSD ranged from 1.8 to 6.1% (3.4% for the total population). Common predictors of CB-PTSD symptom severity were as follows: lower income, an emergency caesarean section compared to vaginal birth, postpartum depression and current psychiatric diagnosis, subjective perception of birth as traumatic and lower birth satisfaction. The perception of birth as traumatic, higher education compared to lower than postgraduate degree education, minor maternal complications when compared to no complications and an emergency caesarean section compared to vaginal birth were significant as group-specific predictors with some differences between analysed countries. Conclusion. The prevalence of CB-PTSD in Lithuanian, Polish, and Slovakian samples is comparable to the results reported in global meta-analyses. Psychological factors and those related to the perception of the childbirth experience play a significant role in the development of CB-PTSD symptoms.