Effectiveness of midwife-led brief counseling intervention on post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety symptoms of women experiencing a traumatic childbirth: a randomized controlled trial

• Published in: BMC pregnancy and childbirth 2020-03, Vol.20 (1), p.142-142, Article 142
• Main Authors: Asadzadeh, Leila, Jafari, Elham, Kharaghani, Roghieh, Taremian, Farhad
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Anxiety; Anxiety - diagnosis; Anxiety - etiology; Anxiety - therapy; Childbirth & labor; Clinical trials; Counseling; Depression; Depression - diagnosis; Depression - etiology; Depression - therapy; Directive Counseling - methods; Female; Humans; Iran; Midwife-led brief counseling; Midwifery; Midwifery - methods; Obstetric Labor Complications - psychology; Post traumatic stress disorder; Postnatal Care - methods; Postpartum depression; Postpartum period; Pregnancy; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - diagnosis; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - etiology; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic - therapy; Trauma; Traumatic childbirth; Womens health; Young Adult
• ISSN: 1471-2393; 1471-2393
• DOI: 10.1186/s12884-020-2826-1

This study investigated the effectiveness of brief midwife-led counseling based on Gamble and colleagues' approach in decreasing post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety symptoms among a group of women who had experienced a traumatic childbirth. From among 270 pregnant women screened to participate in the study, 90 women experienced a traumatic childbirth. They were randomly assigned into two groups: intervention (n = 45) and control group (n = 45). We did a face-to-face counseling session within 72 h after giving birth and a telephone counseling session four to 6 weeks after giving birth for the intervention group. The control group only received the postnatal routine care. The outcome measures were post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety symptoms. At the three-month follow-up, the intervention group showed significantly higher improvement on post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety symptoms compared to the control group. Gamble and colleagues' midwife-led brief counseling could be an effective approach to reduce psychological distress of women who have experienced a traumatic childbirth. IRCT201608285417N2, Date of Registration: 2/21/2017.