Dear colleague,

 

We are delighted to announce the publication of the latest issue of the Midwifery which focuses on fear of childbirth and post-traumatic stress disorder.

 

The impact of maternal mental health disorders on women and their children is significant.  Stress and psychological problems during pregnancy are associated with preterm labour, poor infant outcomes and greater cognitive, behavioural and interpersonal problems in young children¹.  Similarly, postnatal psychological problems have an adverse impact on the woman, child, and relationships.  The World Health Organisation lists psychological illness as a significant indirect cause of maternal death in the first year after birth².  This has led to an international call for the integration of maternal mental health into maternal and child health care programmes³.

 

This special issue of Midwifery focusses on fear of childbirth and postnatal PTSD in order to inform our understanding and hence prevention and treatment.  As a relatively new area of research there are still many gaps in our knowledge.  However, research is rapidly increasing and this journal includes papers on key issues as well as reviews synthesising the evidence.  The first section focusses on fear of childbirth and includes papers on the aetiology of fear of child-birth, women's perceptions of morbidity, and midwives’ views on antenatal management.  The second section focusses on postnatal PTSD and includes papers examining diagnostic criteria, the role of support, the impact on women, and treatment⁴.

 

We would like to thank all of the authors who contributed to the special issue.

 

This special issue is published online on the Midwifery website and is fully accessible to all of our readers until the end of March 2014.

 

Kind regards,

Sarah Davies

Senior Publisher

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¹ Glasheen, C., Richardson, G.A., Fabio, A., 2010. A systematic review of the effects of postnatal maternal anxiety on children. Arch. Womens Ment. Health 13, pp 61–74.

 

² World Health Organization, 2008. Maternal Health & Child Health and Development. 〈http://www.who.int/mental_health/prevention/suicide/MaternalMH/ en/〉 (last accessed11.08.2008).

 

³ Rahman, A., Surkan, P.J., Cayetano, C.E., Rwagatare, P., Dickson, K.E., 2013. Grand challenges: integrating maternal mental health into maternal and child health programmes.PLoSMed.10,e1001442.

 

⁴ Ayers, S., 2014. Fear of childbirth, postnatal post-traumatic stress disorder and midwifery care.  Midwifery 30(2), pp145-148.

 

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