The latent factor structure and assessment of childbirth-related PTSD in fathers: Psychometric characteristics of the City Birth Trauma Scale-French version (partner version).

OBJECTIVE: There is no evidence on the latent structure of symptoms of childbirth-related posttraumatic stress disorder (CB-PTSD) in fathers and to date, no validated French instrument exists to measure CB-PTSD in partners, although the City Birth Trauma Scale (partner version) (City BiTS (P)) was developed to measure such CB-PTSD symptoms. This study aimed to validate the French version of the City BiTS-P (City BiTS-F (P)) in partners attending childbirth and to examine its factor structure, reliability, and validity. METHOD: French-speaking fathers of 1-to-12-month-olds participated in this online cross-sectional survey (n = 280). They completed the City BiTS-F (P), the PTSD Checklist, the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, and the anxiety subscale of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, as well as sociodemographic and medical items. RESULTS: The four-factor model did not fit well the data, contrary to the two-factor model with birth-related symptoms (BRS) and general symptoms (GS). However, the bifactor model with a general factor and the BRS and GS provided the best fit to the data. High reliability (α = .88-.89), and good convergent and divergent validity were found. Fathers with a history of traumatic childbirth reported higher total and subscale scores. DISCUSSION: Our findings provide evidence for the use of the City BiTS-F (P) as a reliable and validated tool to assess CB-PTSD symptoms in French-speaking partners. The use of the total score in addition to the BRS and GS subscale scores is warranted. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Traumatic Childbirth and Birth-Related Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in the Time of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Prospective Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: Birth-related post-traumatic stress disorder occurs in 4.7% of mothers. No previous study focusing precisely on the stress factors related to the COVID-19 pandemic regarding this important public mental health issue has been conducted. However, the stress load brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic could have influenced this risk. METHODS: We aimed to estimate the prevalence of traumatic childbirth and birth-related PTSD and to analyze the risk and protective factors involved, including the risk factors related to the COVID-19 pandemic. We conducted a prospective cohort study of women who delivered at the University Hospitals of Geneva between 25 January 2021 and 10 March 2022 with an assessment within 3 days of delivery and a clinical interview at one month post-partum. RESULTS: Among the 254 participants included, 35 (21.1%, 95% CI: 15.1-28.1%) experienced a traumatic childbirth and 15 (9.1%, 95% CI: 5.2-14.6%) developed a birth-related PTSD at one month post-partum according to DSM-5. Known risk factors of birth-related PTSD such as antenatal depression, previous traumatic events, neonatal complications, peritraumatic distress and peritraumatic dissociation were confirmed. Among the factors related to COVID-19, only limited access to prenatal care increased the risk of birth-related PTSD. CONCLUSIONS: This study highlights the challenges of early mental health screening during the maternity stay when seeking to provide an early intervention and reduce the risk of developing birth-related PTSD. We found a modest influence of stress factors directly related to the COVID-19 pandemic on this risk.