Aim: Post-traumatic stress disorder refers to a person's experience of a traumatic event. Traumatic experiences during childbirth can cause postpartum stress in some women. The present study aimed to investigate the correlation between postpartum stress disorder in different types of delivery (normal vaginal delivery and cesarean section) and maternal anxiety. Design: This was a cross-sectional study. Methods: This cross-sectional study was performed on 714 pregnant mothers selected via cluster sampling six-eight weeks after their delivery in selected health centers. The data were collected using Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Symptom Scale I and the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. The data were then entered into the SPSS 20 software and were analyzed using a chi-square test. The significance level was set as p < 0.05. Results: The results showed that most of the participants in the two groups had medium to low anxiety levels, and the two groups were homogeneous in this regard. However, the mean scores of obvious anxiety (p < 0.0001) and hidden anxiety (p < 0.0001) were significantly higher in the normal vaginal delivery group compared to the cesarean section group. Moreover, post-traumatic stress score was significantly correlated to both obvious anxiety and hidden anxiety in the two study groups. Conclusion: Postpartum stress disorder had a positive relationship with obvious anxiety and hidden anxiety in both study groups. Counseling may be effective in reducing post-traumatic stress disorder in women.

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: Childbirth causes intense emotional arousal that may cause traumatic psychological symptoms in some women. This study investigated the prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in women with normal vaginal delivery and those with caesarian section. This was a cross-sectional study conducted in selected health centers affiliated to Shiraz University of Medical Sciences in 2018. The samples included 714 patients (328 vaginal deliveries and 386 cesarean deliveries). Sampling was performed using the convenience sampling method in two cluster stages after selecting the clinic. Mothers were determined to be traumatic in their delivery according to criterion A in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Version DSM-IV (with four questions). Then, a demographics checklist and a stress disorder questionnaire were filled out for all the mothers after a traumatic delivery through interviews. The prevalence of postpartum stress disorder was higher in the cesarean section group (10.8%) than in the normal vaginal delivery group (10%), but this difference was not significant (P = 0.275). Although the prevalence of PTSD between the two groups was not significant, the prevalence of PTSD was significantly higher in this study than in reports from other countries. This highlights the need for targeted interventions to reduce this disorder.