Effect of Cognitive Processing Therapy on Childbirth-Related Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder among postpartum mothers: Evidence from a Quasi-Experimental Pretest-Posttest Study.

Abstract

This study examined the effect of Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) on childbirth-related post-traumatic stress disorder (CB-PTSD) among postpartum mothers adopting a quasi-experimental design. The sample comprised 20 post-natal mothers screened and identified with CB-PTSD. Data were collected using standardized instruments the PTSD Symptom Scale-Self Report (PSS-SR) and the City Birth Trauma Scale both of which demonstrated acceptable validity and reliability, with Cronbach's alpha coefficients of 0.852 and 0.723 respectively. Data were analyzed using mean, standard deviation, dependent samples t-test, and analysis of covariance. Findings revealed a statistically significant difference in CB-PTSD scores between mothers who received CPT and those in the control group (p < .05). Additionally, a significant reduction was observed between pretest and posttest CB-PTSD scores of the experimental group following CPT intervention. The study concludes that CPT is an effective intervention for reducing childbirth-related post-traumatic stress symptoms among post-natal mothers and contributes preliminary evidence to the limited literature on maternal t rauma-focused interventions.