Post-traumatic stress disorder related to the childbirth: risk factors and diagnostics

About 4 % women in general population and up to 19 % women in at-risk population suffer from PTSD related to childbirth. The main risk factors for postpartum PTSD are negative birth experience and obstetric emergencies. However, the findings about risk factors and prevalence rates vary across studies, which is mainly due to the inconsistency in the diagnostics of postpartum PTSD. Researchers use various PTSD measures that differ in the number and type of symptoms monitored and many of these measures do not cover all DSM criteria for PTSD. Furthermore, the PTSD diagnostic criteria have been significantly modified in the new DSM-5 and the existing instruments need to be revised. The first part of the thesis presents the concept of PTSD related to childbirth. Special attention is paid to the risk factors identified in previous research and to the analysis of PTSD diagnostic and screening measures used in the postpartum context. The aim of the second part of the thesis is to evaluate the psychometric properties of the unpublished Childbirth-Related PTSD Questionnaire on a sample of 620 Czech women. The factor validity of the scale, the internal consistency of the total scale and the subscales resulting from the factor analysis; and the criterion validity of the instrument are verified. With regard to..