The incidence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following
traumatic childbirth: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Abstract
Background Birth trauma may be a risk factor for postpartum
post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, no systematic review on
postpartum PTSD in women with traumatic childbirth has been reported.
Objective This study aimed to estimate the incidence of PTSD following
traumatic childbirth through systematic review and meta-analysis. Search
strategy Six databases (CINAHL, PsycINFO, Embase, PubMed, CNKI and
Wanfang) were searched from inception to 28 February 2022. Selection
criteria Cohort studies and cross-sectional studies related to the
incidence of PTSD following traumatic childbirth were included. Data
collection and analysis Two reviewers independently conducted studies
selection, quality evaluation of studies, and data extraction. The
Random-effects meta-analysis was conducted to derive the pooled
incidence using Stata 16.0 software. Main results A total of nine
studies with 1,823 women experienced traumatic birth were included. Of
them, 353 were identified as PTSD. The pooled incidence of PTSD after
traumatic childbirth was 19.2% (95%CI: 11.9%~26.5%).
Subgroup analyses showed that the incidence of PTSD varied with
traumatic birth/PTSD assessment scales and time, and type of study
participants. Meta-regression analyses indicated that the study country
was a significant source of heterogeneity, and the sample size birth
trauma/PTSD were potential predictors of incidence of PTSD after a
traumatic birth. Sensitivity analysis by deleting one study at a time
yielded similar results. Conclusions The incidence of PTSD in women with
traumatic childbirth is about 19%, which is much higher than that in
general postpartum population. Keywords post-traumatic stress disorder,
incidence, traumatic childbirth, postpartum, meta-analysis