Late fetal demise, a risk factor for post-traumatic stress disorder

Abstract

Late-term fetal demise including fetal death in utero, late miscarriage and late termination of pregnancy are relatively frequent occurrences. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a pathology that finds its roots in exposure to a life-threatening event or an event related to death. Exposure to fetal death during a late-term fetal demise is, therefore, a situation at risk of trauma. The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of PTSD symptoms in the short term among patients faced with late fetal demise, and to identify potential risk factors. All women were assessed at 15 days, one month, and three months after late fetal demise using the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) and the Peritraumatic Dissociative Experiences Questionnaire (PDEQ). At 15 days, 44.2% of patients presented a pathological score on the IES-R (≥ 33). At one month and three months, this figure was 34.1% and 9.1% respectively. Factor associated with PTSD symptoms were: peritraumatic dissociation (p = 0.014), seeing the fetus during hospitalization (p = 0.035), holding the fetus in one’s arms (p = 0.046), and the organization of a funeral service (p = 0.025). Patients experiencing late fetal demise are at significant risk of trauma. Care providers should remain vigilant to identify high-risk situations to offer appropriate care.Clinical trials registration number: NCT03433989.

Psychological interventions to pregnancy-related complications in patients with post-traumatic stress disorder: a scoping review

“…This result is also supported by the findings of Navidian et al [ 35 ]. A study found that among patients who experienced late fetal death, the prevalence of PTSD ranged from 0.6% to 39% [ 61 ]. Furthermore, evidence suggests that miscarriage can increase the risk of PTSD among pregnant women [ 26 , 30 , 39 ].…”

Erken Gebelik Kaybı Yaşayan Kadınlarda Posttravmatik Stres Bozukluğu Belirtileri ve İlişkili Faktörler

“…Studies have found that mental problems increase with pregnancy loss. [10,14,15,[25][26][27][28] In the literature, it is reported that the PTSD symptom score of women with pregnancy loss is significantly higher than the group without pregnancy loss. [5,7,29] Coleman et al found that PTSD symptoms were found in 52.5% of the sample in their study carried out with women experiencing early pregnancy loss.…”

“…[5,6] It is important to examine the reactions of women with a pregnancy loss to posttraumatic stress and anxiety, to identify mental problems in the early period, and to define strategies used to cope with the difficulties in terms of protecting the physical and mental health of the woman and the fetus for subsequent pregnancies. Although there are studies examining posttraumatic stress disorder and mental problems in women with pregnancy loss in the international literature, [7][8][9][10][14][15][16] studies examining this issue are limited in Turkey. [5,17] This study was conducted to identify posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms and related factors in women with early pregnancy loss.…”