The INTERSECT UK Study
The Centre for Maternal and Child Health Research at the the School of Health and Medical Science, City St George's, University of London welcome Rebecca Webb to discuss the prevalence of childbirth related post-traumatic stress disorder (CB-PTSD) across devolved UK nations, as part of the research seminar series.
Abstract
Background: Previous studies have found a prevalence of childbirth related post-traumatic stress disorder (CB-PTSD) in England to be approximately 2-3%. However, no studies have looked at prevalence of CB-PTSD across devolved UK nations.
Aim: Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine how many women experience birth trauma and CB-PTSD in the UK, including across the devolved nations.
Methods: A cross-sectional survey of childbirth-related trauma in women were recruited from 8 hospitals in England, Wales and Scotland. Participants (N=339) completed the INTERSECT survey at 6-12 weeks after birth.
The INTERSECT survey is made up of 9 core measures with questions about pregnancy and birth, birth satisfaction, birth trauma, PTSD, depression and trauma history.
CB-PTSD diagnoses were calculated, and non-parametric tests were carried out to identify if there were significant differences between devolved nations in terms of demographic and birth-related variables, as well as CB-PTSD diagnoses.
Results: The results show that 40.6% of the women sampled experienced childbirth as being at least moderately traumatic. The prevalence of CB-PTSD diagnoses was higher in this sample than in previous research. There was a significant difference between devolved nations in terms of CB-PTSD diagnoses.
Discussion: The prevalence of CB-PTSD identified in this study was higher than in previous research in the UK. Results also show there are significant differences in CB-PTSD across devolved nations, which are not fully explained by demographic or birth-related factors. Therefore, future research is required to understand the reasons the differences in CB-PTSD prevalence rates across devolved nations.
About the speaker
Dr Becca Webb is a research fellow in the Centre for Maternal and Child Health Research. Following on from her PhD she worked on the MATRIx study which aimed to identify barriers and facilitators to perinatal mental health care.
She is now carrying out the MATRIx 2 project which aims to identify barriers and facilitators to perinatal mental healthcare with women from diverse backgrounds, and to co-design a care pathway with these women that aims to overcome barriers.
She also works on the INTERSECT project, which is an international survey of childbirth-related trauma. She was involved in the set up and recruitment of countries into INTERSECT, and she was the Principal Investigator for INTERSECT UK.
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