What to know about postpartum PTSD
Understand postpartum PTSD and the implications of a traumatic birth for new parents and others who witnessed the event.
Key takeaways
- Postpartum PTSD is not an official diagnosis, but what some people have started to colloquially refer to as PTSD symptoms when experienced by new mothers and others after the birth of a child.
- If flashbacks or distressing thoughts are interfering with your daily life, reach out to a psychiatrist and know that help exists.
- A combination of medication and therapy can help treat PTSD, including when it's triggered by traumatic childbirth.
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental health condition that can affects people after they directly experience or witness an extremely dangerous, life-threatening, or potentially life-threatening event. PTSD may cause flashbacks and distressing thoughts or make you irritable, which can negatively affect your daily life.
According to research, about 4% of people experience PTSD after giving birth. This is called postpartum PTSD, sometimes abbreviated as PP-PTSD. It’s not an official category in the DSM-5, the standard classification of mental disorders used by mental health professionals in the United States, but rather a type of PTSD.
Read on to learn more about the nature and symptoms of postpartum PTSD, how it’s treated, and offer answers to some frequently asked questions.
Can you have PTSD from having a baby?
Postpartum post-traumatic stress disorder can occur when the delivery of an infant is experienced as a traumatic event by the mother or child-bearing person, as well as others who experience the trauma indirectly, like partners or health care professionals who are involved in the process of giving birth. What separates postpartum PTSD from other postpartum mental health conditions, like postpartum depression, is the focus on traumatic childbirth.Specific birth traumas you may experience can include an unplanned C-section, an unexpected hemorrhage, any injuries to the mother or child, or the baby going into the NICU.
Not everyone experiences PTSD from having a baby, and certain people may be more at risk. This includes having a history of depression or PTSD, fear of childbirth, trouble conceiving, and past complications with pregnancy including miscarriage.
How long does postpartum PTSD last?
To qualify as postpartum post-traumatic stress disorder, symptoms must last at least one month. Research suggests that PP-PTSD may last for months or years. Some people may not experience this type of PTSD until months or years after childbirth, and more research on the disorder’s duration and onset timing are needed.
How is postpartum PTSD diagnosed?
In order for the doctor to determine whether you have postpartum PTSD, they’ll discuss your symptoms and how you’ve been feeling, and most importantly, you’ll talk about your experience of childbirth. This is because a PTSD diagnosis relies on your perceived trauma and requires that you have faced imminent or actual death, sexual abuse, or serious injury, or the threat of it, directly or indirectly. While some childbirth experiences—like severe hemorrhaging during delivery, for instance—may obviously fall into one of these categories, others may not.
Giving birth is a life-changing process that will affect women differently for any number of reasons related to their personal history and circumstances. By establishing that you experienced or perceived the birth as traumatic, your doctor can work with you to manage symptoms of PTSD. They’ll also talk about risk factors associated with the condition, including any prior trauma and history of mood disorders for you or your family members.
After a traumatic event has been confirmed, your doctor will likely assess you for other symptoms that can cause impairment in function. In order to be diagnosed with PTSD, you must typically have the symptoms bulleted below for at least one month.
One or more re-experiencing symptoms, such as:
- Flashbacks to the event
- The regular recurrence of dreams or memories related to the event
- Distressing thoughts
- Physical stress signs
One or more avoidance symptoms, such as:
- Avoiding locations, events, or items associated with the event
- Evading thoughts or feelings related to the event
Two or more arousal and reactivity symptoms, which may be constant, such as:
- Startling easily
- Being tense, on the lookout for danger
- Diminished ability to concentrate
- Trouble sleeping
- Irritability or outbursts of anger
- Risky or potentially destructive behaviors
Two or more cognition and mood symptoms, such as:
- Difficulties remembering central aspects of the traumatic event
- Negative thoughts directed toward yourself or the world
- Persistent negative emotions
- Loss of interest in activities that you used to enjoy or other depressive symptoms
- A sense of social isolation
- Problems feeling positive emotions
How is PTSD treated postpartum?
A number of different therapies are used to treat postpartum PTSD, including:
- Trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT): This therapy can help a person alter or break out of damaging thought patterns and behaviors pertaining to a traumatic event and associated stressors. For example, difficulties in the birthing process may be reframed or contextualized and adaptive approaches emphasized. Some studies have shown TF-CBT to improve health outcomes for women suffering from postpartum PTSD.
- Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) therapy: In this approach, eye movements, tapping or sounds help process troubling memories that were not fully addressed at the time of the traumatic event. The aim is to address memories that feel "stuck," within a safe environment, though it’s important to note that it may not be suitable for everyone and is often a gradual process.
- Interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT): This short-term therapy focuses on four main areas: fixing problems in relationships, dealing with unresolved grief, managing major life changes, and resolving conflicts with others. Unlike some other therapies that look at the past, IPT focuses on current relationships and how thoughts and behaviors affect them. Treatment usually lasts 12 to 16 weeks and includes regular sessions where the therapist helps assess symptoms and relationship patterns.
- Parent-infant therapy: This type of therapy involves both the parent and the baby. It focuses on how a parent perceives her baby, considering their own experiences, and connects that understanding to their current relationship with their child to enhance the bond.
Medication
Your doctor will work with you to come up with a treatment plan that works for your situation. Antidepressants like Zoloft (sertraline) and Prozac (fluoxetine) are commonly prescribed, and your doctor will discuss the benefits and risks of taking it, or something else, whether it’s before after or during pregnancy. SSRIs like these are generally considered safe during breastfeeding.
Related article: Postpartum depression medications
If you think you may have PTSD after giving birth, your first course of action should be to seek professional help. If you’re still in the hospital after giving birth, this could mean consulting your physician about your state of mind and asking about available maternal mental health resources and support groups.
Another option is to take Talkiatry’s quick and free online assessment. We’re a national psychiatry practice, and we’ll work to ensure that we’re the right match for you before pairing you with a doctor suited to your particular needs and circumstances. Untreated postpartum PTSD can lead to long-term consequences, including difficulties in bonding with your baby, challenges in daily functioning, and an increased risk of developing other mental health issues.
FAQs
What are the types of PTSD?
There is only one officially recognized condition called PTSD. However, in addition to subtypes that name the cause or period of life associated with specific cases of PTSD, like postpartum PTSD, there are at least two other distinctions that can be made. First, is the PTSD accompanied by dissociative symptoms (depersonalization or derealization)? Second, is there delayed expression of a particular case of PTSD or, in other words, does it begin to show itself six months or more after the traumatic event?
What are the symptoms of postpartum PTSD?
People with PTSD in the postpartum period will experience flashbacks to the delivery (or to specific traumatic elements of the delivery), recurring nightmares or unwanted memories related to it, distressing thoughts, and/or will display physical signs of stress in their bodies. In addition, they’ll present with one or more avoidance symptoms, two or more arousal and reactivity symptoms, and two or more cognition and mood symptoms.
What are other postpartum mental health conditions?
Postpartum psychosis (extremely rare), postpartum anxiety disorders, postweaning depression, and postpartum obsessive-compulsive disorder are all other mental health conditions that can occur after childbirth. Postpartum depression—the baby blues—also affects a near majority or majority of women. It tends to resolve on its own and not to impair women’s ability to function in day-to-day life.
The information in this article is for education and informational purposes only and should never be substituted for medical advice, diagnoses, or treatment. If you or someone you know may be in danger, call 911 or the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988 right away.
