Study Question answered Study sample Aims of study Methodology Important results Quality appraisal
Nyberg, 2010
What are the views of those who support women (i.e. family and close friends, peer support groups, midwives and other relevant healthcare staff) on impact of birth mode on development of PTSD?
N=8 midwives at specialist clinic for women with PTSD after birth
Describe specialist midwives’ experiences of working with women with postnatal PTSD.
Semi-structured interviews analysed using thematic content analysis.
Midwives reported a large number of women requesting ElCS after a previous traumatic birth, but felt that planning a vaginal delivery and appropriately supporting women throughout helped women confront their past experiences and move on from them. Women who did have ElCS tended to feel dissatisfied at their choice. Women felt like midwives were not supportive and did not listen to them properly and this worsened their experience of traumatic birth.
CASP: 9/10
Tham, 2010 How do women who have PTSD perceive the impact of social/peer support on their mental health outcomes? N=84 women who had EmCS and developed PTSS (n=42) or did not develop PTSS (n=42) Compare the experiences of women who underwent EmCS and the differences between those who did and did not develop PTSD. Telephone interview 6 months after birth recorded by hand and analysed by content analysis. Women with PTSD were more likely to report: midwives seeming nervous, midwives being unsupported, not feeling involved in decisions about their treatment and feeling like the baby would die. CASP: 9/10