Post-Traumatic Stress, Depression, and Quality of Life in Women with Peripartum Cardiomyopathy

Clinical, field, and experimental studies of response to potentially stressful life events give concordant findings: there is a general human tendency to undergo episodes of intrusive thinking and periods of avoidance. A scale of current subjective distress, related to a specific event, was based on a list of items composed of commonly reported experiences of intrusion and avoidance. Responses of 66 persons admitted to an outpatient clinic for the treatment of stress response syndromes indicated that the scale had a useful degree of significance and homogeneity. Empirical clusters supported the concept of subscores for intrusions and avoidance responses.

Research has demonstrated that women develop postpartum PTSD. Prevalence of postpartum PTSD has ranged from 1% to 30%, and many risk factors have been identified as predictors of postpartum PTSD. While qualitative reviews have identified patterns of risk, the lack of quantitative reviews prevents the field from identifying specific risk factors and making a single estimate of the prevalence of postpartum PTSD. The current meta-analysis investigated prevalence and risk factors of postpartum PTSD, both due to childbirth and other events, among community and targeted samples. Prevalence of postpartum PTSD in community samples was estimated to be 3.1% and in at-risk samples at 15.7%. Important risk factors in community samples included current depression, labor experiences such as interactions with medical staff, as well as a history of psychopathology. In at-risk samples, impactful risk factors included current depression and infant complications. Further research should investigate how attitudes towards pregnancy and childbirth may interact with women's experiences during delivery. Additionally, studies need to begin to evaluate possible long-term effects that these symptoms may have on women and their families. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.