How Common is Trauma Related to Childbirth and What Are Its Effects?

What you need to know

• About 4-5% of mothers and 1.3% of fathers develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) related to childbirth.
• This study will examine how common childbirth-related PTSD is in Switzerland and what factors increase or decrease the risk.
• The researchers will look at how childbirth-related PTSD affects parents’ relationships, bonding with their baby, parenting stress, and use of healthcare.

Understanding Trauma Related to Childbirth

Giving birth can be a joyful experience, but for some parents it can also be traumatic. About 20-40% of women find childbirth traumatic, and some go on to develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a result. PTSD is a mental health condition that can occur after experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event.

With childbirth-related PTSD, parents may have intrusive memories of the birth, avoid reminders of it, experience negative changes in their thoughts and mood, and feel on edge. About 4-5% of mothers develop full PTSD after childbirth. Another 12% have some PTSD symptoms but not the full disorder. Fathers and other partners can also develop PTSD, with about 1.3% experiencing it after being present for the birth.

Having PTSD related to childbirth can affect not just the parents but the whole family. It may impact bonding with the baby, breastfeeding, the couple’s relationship, and the child’s development. That’s why it’s important to understand how often it occurs and what factors increase or decrease the risk.

Goals of the Study

This study, called the Swiss cohort on Traumatic Childbirth and Health (SwiTCH), aims to:

1. Determine how common childbirth-related PTSD and PTSD symptoms are in the French-speaking part of Switzerland, for both mothers and partners.

2. Identify factors that increase or decrease the risk of developing PTSD after childbirth. This includes things that happened before, during, and after the birth.

3. Examine how childbirth-related PTSD affects:

   • The parents’ relationship
   • How parents work together to care for the baby
   • Bonding between parents and baby
   • Parents’ confidence in their parenting abilities
   • Parental burnout (extreme exhaustion from parenting)
   • Whether parents seek healthcare when needed

4. Look at how the birth experience itself relates to developing PTSD symptoms.

5. Investigate how social and economic factors, like social support and income, relate to childbirth PTSD.

How the Study Will Work

The researchers plan to recruit 300-500 pregnant women and their partners (if they have one) in the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Participants will complete online surveys at four time points:

1. During the third trimester of pregnancy
2. 6-12 weeks after birth
3. 6 months after birth
4. 12 months after birth

The surveys will ask about mental health, the birth experience, relationships, parenting, and other relevant factors. By following families over time, the researchers can see how things change and what factors predict later PTSD symptoms or other difficulties.

What Will Be Measured

The study will collect information on many different aspects of parents’ experiences:

Mental Health

• Symptoms of PTSD related to childbirth
• Symptoms of anxiety and depression
• History of mental health issues

Pregnancy and Birth

• Fear of childbirth during pregnancy
• Details about the birth experience
• How traumatic parents found the birth

Parent-Child Relationship

• Bonding between parents and baby
• Parents’ confidence in their parenting abilities

Couple Relationship

• Relationship satisfaction
• How well parents work together in caring for the baby

Social Factors

• Social support
• Neighborhood environment
• Economic factors

Healthcare

• Whether parents avoid seeking needed healthcare

Potential Benefits of the Research

This study could provide valuable information to help support new parents’ mental health. By understanding how common childbirth-related PTSD is and what factors increase the risk, healthcare providers may be better able to identify parents who need extra support. The findings could also help in developing programs to prevent PTSD or reduce its negative effects on families.

Additionally, this will be one of the first studies to look in depth at fathers’ and other partners’ experiences of birth trauma. Most past research has focused only on mothers. Including partners will give a more complete picture of how childbirth affects the whole family.

Conclusions

• This study will provide new information on how common PTSD related to childbirth is in Switzerland and what factors influence whether parents develop it.
• The findings could help healthcare providers better support new parents’ mental health.
• By looking at many aspects of parents’ experiences over time, the research may reveal how birth trauma affects family relationships and child development.

While having a baby is often a happy event, this study recognizes that it can also be challenging for some parents. The goal is to better understand these challenges so that all families can get the support they need for a healthy start.