Xiaolu Lai, Jingfen Chen, Demei Lu, Lu Wang, Xiafen Lu, Innie Chen, Daniel Krewski, Shi Wu Wen, Ri-hua Xie
{"title":"The Association Between Doula Care and Childbirth-Related Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms: The Mediating Role of Childbirth Experience","authors":"Xiaolu Lai, Jingfen Chen, Demei Lu, Lu Wang, Xiafen Lu, Innie Chen, Daniel Krewski, Shi Wu Wen, Ri-hua Xie","doi":"10.1111/birt.12874","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/birt.12874","url":null,"abstract":"Although the benefits of doula care during childbirth are well-known, its impact on childbirth-related post-traumatic stress disorder (CB-PTSD) symptoms are less thoroughly characterized. This study aimed to explore the association between doula care and CB-PTSD symptoms and the potential mediating role of childbirth experience on this association.","PeriodicalId":55350,"journal":{"name":"Birth-Issues in Perinatal Care","volume":"49 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2024-09-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142260481","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Heather M. Bradford, Rebecca M. Puhl, Julia C. Phillippi, Mary S. Dietrich, Jeremy L. Neal
{"title":"Weight Bias in the Perinatal Period: An Integrative Review","authors":"Heather M. Bradford, Rebecca M. Puhl, Julia C. Phillippi, Mary S. Dietrich, Jeremy L. Neal","doi":"10.1111/birt.12870","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/birt.12870","url":null,"abstract":"Weight bias toward individuals with higher body weights in healthcare settings is associated with adverse health behaviors, reduced healthcare utilization, and poor health outcomes. The purpose of this integrative review was to explore: (1) What has been measured and described regarding perinatal care providers' and students' weight bias toward pregnant, birthing, and postpartum individuals with higher body weights? (2) What has been measured and described regarding pregnant, birthing, and postpartum individuals' experiences of weight bias? (3) What is the association of experiences of weight bias with perinatal and mental health outcomes among pregnant, birthing, and postpartum individuals?","PeriodicalId":55350,"journal":{"name":"Birth-Issues in Perinatal Care","volume":"43 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.5,"publicationDate":"2024-09-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142260482","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Traumatic experiences, quality of life, and organizational commitment among midwives: A cross-sectional study.","authors":"Kinneret Segal, Ilya Kagan","doi":"10.1111/birt.12868","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/birt.12868","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The work of midwives is emotionally challenging. Midwives share moments of joy, when a baby is born, and attend complex events of loss and trauma. Exposure to childbirth complications, emergencies, and loss can affect their professional quality of life and functioning. This aspect of midwives' practice has not been sufficiently researched.</p><p><strong>Aim: </strong>To examine the associations between exposures to traumatic events, post-traumatic symptoms, and personal resilience with professional quality of life and organizational commitment among hospital midwives.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Participants in this cross-sectional study conducted in 2020 included 131 midwives from three large hospitals in central Israel. Data were collected using a structured self-administered questionnaire that examined socio-demographic characteristics, exposure to traumatic events during childbirth, personal resilience, post-traumatic symptoms, professional quality of life, and organizational commitment.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The three most traumatic events for midwives were: neonatal death or feared death, maternal death or feared death, and stillbirth. The more frequent the exposure to traumatic events, the more numerous and intense the post-traumatic symptoms. The more numerous and intense the post-traumatic symptoms, the higher the level of professional burnout and compassion fatigue and the lower the compassion satisfaction. Higher compassion satisfaction and lower professional burnout were associated with higher organizational commitment. Personal resilience, country of birth, post-traumatic symptoms, and organizational commitment predicted compassion satisfaction.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Midwives' exposure to traumatic events is associated with the onset of post-traumatic symptoms, impaired professional quality of life, and reduced organizational commitment, and is accompanied by burnout and compassion fatigue. There is a need to address this issue in training programs and to develop organizational support and policies to improve midwives' well-being and quality of care.</p>","PeriodicalId":55350,"journal":{"name":"Birth-Issues in Perinatal Care","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2024-09-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142121236","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Matias Vaajala, Rasmus Liukkonen, Ilari Kuitunen, Ville Ponkilainen, Ville M Mattila, Maiju Kekki
{"title":"Fear of Childbirth After Major Orthopedic Traumas: A Nationwide Multi-Register Analysis.","authors":"Matias Vaajala, Rasmus Liukkonen, Ilari Kuitunen, Ville Ponkilainen, Ville M Mattila, Maiju Kekki","doi":"10.1111/birt.12869","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/birt.12869","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between previous major traumas and the prevalence of fear of childbirth (FOC) and the subsequent effects of FOC on the intended mode of delivery.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>In this nationwide retrospective register-based cohort study, data from the Care Register for Health Care were linked with the National Medical Birth Register (MBR) to evaluate the prevalence of FOC after major traumas. A total of 18,573 pregnancies met the inclusion criteria. A multivariable logistic regression model was used to assess the effects of FOC on the intended mode of delivery. Women with major traumas before pregnancy were compared to individuals with wrist fractures. Adjusted odds ratios (aORs) with 95% CIs between the groups were compared.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Of those pregnancies that occurred after major traumas, 785 (6.2%) women were diagnosed with FOC after traumatic brain injury (TBI), 111 (6.1%) women after spine fracture, 38 (5.0%) women after pelvic fracture, 22 (3.2%) women after hip or thigh fracture, and 399 (5.2%) women in the control group. Among those women diagnosed with FOC, the adjusted odds for elective CB as an intended mode of delivery were highest among women with previous spine fractures (aOR 2.28, CI 1.45-3.60) when compared to the control group.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>We found no evidence of differences in maternal FOC in patients with preceding major traumas when compared to the control group. Therefore, it seems highly likely that the major trauma itself is the explanatory factor for the increased rate of elective CB.</p>","PeriodicalId":55350,"journal":{"name":"Birth-Issues in Perinatal Care","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2024-08-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142115005","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Clara E. Busse PhD, MPH, Alison M. Stuebe MD, MSc, Katherine Tumlinson PhD, Christine Tucker PhD, Catherine J. Vladutiu PhD, Brian Pence PhD, Kristin P. Tully PhD
{"title":"Birthing parent postpartum acute care use: Multilevel opportunities for strengthening healthcare","authors":"Clara E. Busse PhD, MPH, Alison M. Stuebe MD, MSc, Katherine Tumlinson PhD, Christine Tucker PhD, Catherine J. Vladutiu PhD, Brian Pence PhD, Kristin P. Tully PhD","doi":"10.1111/birt.12860","DOIUrl":"10.1111/birt.12860","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Background</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Two-thirds of pregnancy-related deaths occur from 1 day to 1 year after birth, and medical complications frequently occur after birth. Postpartum health concerns are often urgent, requiring timely medical care, which may contribute to a reliance on acute care. One approach to improving postpartum health is to investigate birthing parents' accounts of acute care use in the months after birth, which is what we did in this study.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Methods</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>This mixed-methods study included questionnaire responses, semi-structured interviews, and chart review of 18 English-speaking individuals who used acute care in the 90 days after birth in the southeastern United States. Interviews were conducted remotely, recorded, and professionally transcribed. Qualitative data were inductively coded to iteratively develop categories and themes with respect to contributors and barriers to postpartum acute care use.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Results</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Birthing parents engaged in complex decision-making processes to decide where and when to seek postpartum acute care in response to their urgent health concerns. Many described fear and uncertainty about their postpartum health. Most participants contacted a healthcare practitioner before using acute care, followed their guidance, and were treated or otherwise reassured at the acute care visit.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Discussion</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>These findings suggest multilevel opportunities for strengthening healthcare systems, including better-preparing individuals for the postpartum period and structuring care to accommodate birthing parents and include their support systems. The insights from this study can inform multilevel strategies for strengthening healthcare so that birthing parents are safe and well postpartum.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":55350,"journal":{"name":"Birth-Issues in Perinatal Care","volume":"51 4","pages":"843-854"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2024-08-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142115004","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Experiences of attending prenatal ultrasounds during the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia: A cross-sectional survey.","authors":"Helen J Nightingale, Christina Watts, Kim Pham","doi":"10.1111/birt.12867","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/birt.12867","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Prenatal ultrasounds form an important part of routine maternity care in Australia and indeed internationally. The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated rapid changes in society and healthcare to curb transmission, with evidence demonstrating detrimental impacts on childbearing women associated with these restrictions. However, experiences with pandemic restrictions for prenatal ultrasounds in relation to distress, patient expectations, and satisfaction are largely unknown. This study aimed to explore the experiences of pregnant women attending prenatal ultrasound during the pandemic in Australia.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A cross-sectional online survey of people in Australia who had undergone at least one prenatal ultrasound during the period of maternity care restrictions was performed. The survey included validated tools for assessing post-traumatic stress, satisfaction, and expectations with maternity care.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>A total of 1280 responses were obtained. Almost 37% of respondents returned a PCL-C score consistent with probable post-traumatic stress disorder. Unexpected ultrasound findings or a high PCL-C score were more likely to have higher expectations and lower levels of satisfaction with their maternity care experience. Having an ultrasound for pregnancy loss, fetal abnormality, and/or a prior post-traumatic stress disorder diagnosis were the strongest factors correlating with a high PCL-C score.</p><p><strong>Discussion: </strong>The prevalence of post-traumatic stress symptoms in the study population is concerning and elucidates the distress experienced in association with prenatal ultrasounds during pandemic restrictions in Australia. Maternity services should acknowledge the high levels of service consumers with post-trauma symptoms and consider trauma-responsive maternity care adaptations in response to adverse perinatal outcomes for those afflicted with post-trauma and distress-related symptoms.</p>","PeriodicalId":55350,"journal":{"name":"Birth-Issues in Perinatal Care","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2024-08-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142037784","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Kate M. Levett PhD, Kerry L. Sutcliffe PhD, MPhil, Jennifer Vanderlaan PhD, Kristen H. Kjerulff PhD
{"title":"The First Baby Study: What women would like to have known about first childbirth. A mixed-methods study","authors":"Kate M. Levett PhD, Kerry L. Sutcliffe PhD, MPhil, Jennifer Vanderlaan PhD, Kristen H. Kjerulff PhD","doi":"10.1111/birt.12854","DOIUrl":"10.1111/birt.12854","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Background</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Although prenatal care providers aim to prepare women for first childbirth, little research has explored retrospectively what birthing people would like to have known before first childbirth.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Aim</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>To describe women's reports of what they would like to have known before first childbirth but feel they were not told.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Methods</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>This is a secondary analysis of the First Baby Study, a large prospective cohort study conducted in Pennsylvania, USA. Telephone interviews were conducted with 3006 women 1 month after their first childbirth. Women were first asked: “Was there anything that you would have liked to have known before your delivery that you were not told?”. If “yes” they were asked a second question: “Please tell me what you would have liked to have known before your delivery”.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Analysis</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>A convergent mixed-methods analysis including descriptive analytics to compare characteristics of women by answers to the first question, and qualitative content analysis of women's open-ended answers to the second question.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Findings</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>A total of 441 women (14.7%) reported there was something they would like to have known before their first childbirth. Women described that communication with care providers was their main concern. They would have liked a better understanding of their options before birth, more agency in decision-making, and more information about the topics of their body, their birth, their baby, and what to expect beyond birth.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Conclusions</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Results highlight important topics for childbirth education, and the impact of gaps in shared decision-making, patient–provider communication, and supportive care practices for first childbirth, especially where women have identified vulnerabilities.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":55350,"journal":{"name":"Birth-Issues in Perinatal Care","volume":"51 4","pages":"795-805"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2024-08-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/birt.12854","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142019669","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Kathleen Marion Baird, Hala Phipps, Nasrin Javid, Bradley Stephen de Vries
{"title":"Domestic and family violence and associated maternal and perinatal outcomes: A population-based retrospective cohort study.","authors":"Kathleen Marion Baird, Hala Phipps, Nasrin Javid, Bradley Stephen de Vries","doi":"10.1111/birt.12863","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/birt.12863","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Domestic family violence (DFV) is a global health concern affecting one in three women worldwide. Women are vulnerable to DFV throughout their life; however, pregnancy introduces an increased risk of experiencing DFV for millions of women and birthing people.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Routinely collected data from two hospitals in one local health district in New South Wales, Australia, were examined to determine the prevalence of DFV from 2010 to 2019. Demographics and outcome factors were compared by a reported history of DFV. Multivariable logistic regression was used to assess for predictors of DFV and to assess DFV as a predictor of adverse maternal and perinatal outcomes.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>One percent of women (538/52,469) experienced DFV in the past year. Women experiencing domestic violence were more likely to be younger and have previous children, and had higher Edinburgh Depression Scores. These women were more likely to experience stillbirth (1.5% vs. 0.6%, p = 0.005). Maternal age < 25 years, cigarette smoking, alcohol use in pregnancy, mental health issues, and place of birth were associated with a recent history of DFV after adjusting for confounders. Recent DFV was associated with preterm birth and mental health issues but was not associated with admission to the neonatal nursery, small-for-gestational-age birthweight, or caesarean section after adjusting for confounders.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>There was a relationship between DFV and poorer health outcomes for both women and their babies. This study highlighted that stillbirth is high among the population of women who experience DFV when compared to women who do not experience DFV.</p>","PeriodicalId":55350,"journal":{"name":"Birth-Issues in Perinatal Care","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2024-08-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142005982","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Christina Hernandez Engelhart MMid, Sophie Vanbelle PhD, Pål Øian MD, PhD, Aase Serine Devold Pay PhD, Anne Kaasen PhD, Ellen Blix PhD
{"title":"How well can the fetal heart rate baseline be assessed by intrapartum intermittent auscultation? An interrater reliability and agreement study","authors":"Christina Hernandez Engelhart MMid, Sophie Vanbelle PhD, Pål Øian MD, PhD, Aase Serine Devold Pay PhD, Anne Kaasen PhD, Ellen Blix PhD","doi":"10.1111/birt.12858","DOIUrl":"10.1111/birt.12858","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Background</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>We aimed to examine the inter-reliability and agreement among midwives when assessing the fetal heart rate (FHR) using the handheld Doppler. The primary aim was to measure the reliability and agreement of FHR baseline (baseline) as beats per minute (bpm). The secondary aims were to measure fluctuations from the baseline, defined as increases and decreases, and classifications (normal or abnormal) of FHR soundtracks. This is the first interrater reliability and agreement study on intermittent auscultation (IA) to our knowledge.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Methods</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>The participant population consisted of 154 women in labor, from a mixed-risk population and admitted to hospital for intrapartum care. The rater population were 16 midwives from various maternity care settings in Norway. A total of 154 soundtracks were recorded with a handheld Doppler device, and the 16 raters assessed 1-min soundtracks once, through an online survey (Nettskjema). They assessed the baseline, FHR increase or decrease, and the FHR classification. The primary outcome, baseline, was measured with intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). The secondary outcomes were measured with kappa and proportion of agreement.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Results</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>The interrater reliability for the baseline (bpm) was ICC(A,1) 0.74 (95% CI 0.69–0.78). On average, an absolute difference of 7.9 bpm (95% CI 7.3–8.5 bpm) was observed between pairs of raters.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Conclusion</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Our results demonstrate an acceptable level of reliability and agreement in assessing the baseline using a handheld Doppler.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":55350,"journal":{"name":"Birth-Issues in Perinatal Care","volume":"51 4","pages":"835-842"},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2024-08-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/birt.12858","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142009978","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Rosa Silva, Ana Paula Prata, Wilson Abreu, Tânia Brandão, Sónia Brandão, Olga Riklikiene, Gabija Jarasiunaite-Fedosejeva, Ernesto S González Mesa, Gözde Gökçe İsbir, Figen Inci, Burku Komurku, Kristiina Uriko, Gill Thompson
{"title":"Posttraumatic growth and its associations with perceived stress and core beliefs in women after traumatic childbirth during the COVID-19 pandemic.","authors":"Rosa Silva, Ana Paula Prata, Wilson Abreu, Tânia Brandão, Sónia Brandão, Olga Riklikiene, Gabija Jarasiunaite-Fedosejeva, Ernesto S González Mesa, Gözde Gökçe İsbir, Figen Inci, Burku Komurku, Kristiina Uriko, Gill Thompson","doi":"10.1111/birt.12865","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/birt.12865","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The COVID-19 pandemic added new challenges and stressors to the childbirth period, potentially increasing the risk of traumatic childbirth experiences. There is little known about posttraumatic growth (PTG) in a childbearing population. This study describes PTG in women after traumatic childbirth during the COVID-19 pandemic and its association with sociodemographic, birth-related characteristics, traumatic childbirth events, perceived stress, and core beliefs, as well as explores what factors predict PTG.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A cross-sectional study was conducted with 202 women who self-identified as having experienced traumatic childbirth. Measures included sociodemographic and birth-related characteristics, traumatic childbirth events, self-reported stress during childbirth, the PTG Inventory, and the Core Beliefs Inventory (CBI).</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Perceived stress at the time of birth was very high in 70% of the respondents. CBI showed moderate disruption of core beliefs. 41.6% of mothers indicated substantial PTG. Education and type of birth were related to perceived stress levels; higher disruption of core beliefs was observed in individuals who experienced perineal trauma and lack of partners' presence during childbirth, and higher disruption of core beliefs was positively associated with PTG. Predictive models showed that perceived stress had a minimal effect, while the disruption of core beliefs showed a significant positive association with PTG.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Traumatic childbirth experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic were positively related to PTG. Health professionals should create an environment where women can explore their feelings and emotions. Changes in current practices are also necessary as cesareans have been shown to be highly associated with high levels of perceived stress.</p>","PeriodicalId":55350,"journal":{"name":"Birth-Issues in Perinatal Care","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.8,"publicationDate":"2024-08-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142001416","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}