Do adverse childhood experiences increase the risk of postpartum traumatic stress and depression?

Aim: This study was conducted to determine the effect of childhood adverse experiences on the risk of postpartum posttraumatic stress disorder (PP-PTSD) and postpartum depression (PPD).

Methods: This descriptive study was conducted with 417 mothers between 1 March and 30 April 2022. Data were collected using a demographic and obstetric information form, the Adverse Childhood Experiences Questionnaire (ACE), City Birth Trauma Scale (CityBiTS) and Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale (EPDS) through the Google Forms platform.

Results: The mothers participating in the study had a mean age of 30.47 ± 4.21 years, 65.9% (n = 275) had at least one ACE, 10.3% (n = 43) met all of the DSM-5 PTSD criteria according to the CityBiTS, and 91.8% (n = 383) had at least one traumatic stress symptom. Correlation analysis revealed weak positive associations between number of ACEs and CityBiTS score (p < 0.001, r = 0.328) and EPDS score (p < 0.001, r = 0.291) and a moderate positive association between CityBiTS and EPDS scores (p < 0.001, r = 0.601). PP-PTSD was found to be a partial mediator variable between ACE and PPD.

Conclusion: The presence of ACE in mothers was found to increase the risk of developing PPD, both alone and when combined with traumatic birth experience. Therefore, we believe that screening for a history of ACE during pregnancy, investigating traumatic birth experiences in the postpartum period, closer follow-up of mothers with both ACE and traumatic birth experiences and increasing support systems will be beneficial in the prevention and early diagnosis of PPD.