Risk factors for developing posttraumatic stress disorder following childbirth

•Traumatic childbirth can result in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)•Prior vulnerability and childbirth stressors predict PTSD•Distress in birth may be indicative of PTSD especially with healthy baby outcomes•Similar factors correlate with PTSD with or without neonatal complications Women can develop childbirth-related posttraumatic stress disorder (CB-PTSD) in at-term delivery with healthy baby outcome as well as following pre-term delivery and neonatal complications, a potential added stressor. No study compares risk factors of CB-PTSD associated with different infant outcomes. We investigated CB-PTSD risk factors by comparing women with or without neonatal complications. Analysis reveals the importance of antepartum and birth-related risk factors in CB-PTSD above and beyond child outcomes, suggesting childbirth is an independent stressor capable of evoking CB-PTSD.