Abstract
We examined symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in mothers of very low birth weight (VLBW) infants 2–3 years post-partum, compared with mothers of term, normal weight infants. Mothers were asked to report current symptoms relating specifically to the birth of their infant using The Impact of Event Scale–Revised (IES-R). Mothers of VLBW infants recorded significantly higher levels of PTSD symptoms overall (median scores: VLBW 25 [range 2–82], versus controls: 0 [range 0–5], P < 0.001), and in all sub-categories (p < 0.001). These findings suggest that mothers of VLBW infants have a relatively high prevalence of symptoms of PTSD at 2–3 years postnatal.
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Acknowledgement
We sincerely thank all mothers who kindly participated in this study.
Declaration of interest
The study was funded by The Jenny Lind Research Fund. There are no competing interests to be declared.
Ethics Approval
The work reported in this study received prior approval from Norfolk Research Ethics Committee (Ref Number: 06/Q0101/141)
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Ethics Approval
The work reported in this study received prior approval from Norfolk Research Ethics Committee (Ref Number: 06/Q0101/141)
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Åhlund, S., Clarke, P., Hill, J. et al. Post-traumatic stress symptoms in mothers of very low birth weight infants 2–3 years post-partum. Arch Womens Ment Health 12, 261–264 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00737-009-0067-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00737-009-0067-4