Promotion of posttraumatic stress disorder following traumatic birth experiences and the influence of maternity religious Attitude: A correlational study

Women who experience stillbirth and preterm delivery are likely to be associated with an increased risk of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) compared to women with live births and dose religious attitude related to posttraumatic stress? The aim of the study was promotion PTSD following traumatic birth experiences and the influence of maternity religious Attitude.

A cross‑sectional analytical study was conducted at selected hospitals of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences on 82 subjects in 2018. The instruments were demographic questionnaire, Religious Attitude questionnaire, and Mississippi PTSD Scale which were completed after delivery. Data were analyzed using SPSS software, version 22, using the Pearson correlation test.

About 75% stillbirth group and 65% of the preterm delivery group had a high level of religious attitude. In the stillbirth group, 90% had high levels of PTSD and in the preterm delivery group, 90% had moderate stress, and 10% had high PTSD levels. The correlation between religious attitude and PTSD after stillbirth was 0.373 with a significance level of 0.018. Therefore, there was a significant positive relationship between religious attitude and PTSD. However, the relationship between religious attitude and PTSD after preterm delivery was not statistically significant (P = 0.158).

PTSD was significantly higher in mothers with stillbirth and had a significant relationship with religious attitude. However, in mothers of preterm infants, the level of stress was moderate and did not have a significant relationship with religious attitude. The findings indicate the need of mothers for interventions to cope better with the physical and psychological problems of stillbirth and preterm delivery.