Rewrite Birth: a multi-professional intervention to reduce post-traumatic stress after traumatic childbirth experience

Research problem and specific questionsGiving birth is a major life event, often in the most positive regard. Sadly, some have a traumatic birth experience instead. About 20% report posttraumatic stress following childbirth, and 3-6% develop post-traumatic stress syndrome.

While the National Board of Health and Welfare have concluded that it is essential to give postpartum women who suffer psychologically access to multi-professional assessment and treatment, there is a lack of scientifically evaluated interventions to offer women with childbirth-related posttraumatic stress.The aim of this project is thus to develop and evaluate a multi-professional intervention to reduce post-traumatic stress following a traumatic childbirth experience.

Specifically, we aim to:Develop and assess the feasibility of the intervention componentsTest the efficacy of the intervention in a randomised controlled trial (RCT)Evaluate the potential effectiveness and feasibility of implementation in maternal care settingsData and methodWe will combine qualitative data from all phases of the project, with quantitative outcome data from two experimental studies.

First, we will co-create the intervention with our collaborative partners based on available literature, guidelines, and interview data from women, health care professionals, and decision-makers in health care.

Secondly, we will conduct an RCT with 120 women randomised to either the full intervention, a reduced form of the intervention, or a waitlist control group. Inclusion criteria and primary outcome will be posttraumatic stress following a traumatic birth experience.

Finally, we evaluate the potential effectiveness and feasibility of future implementation with a multiple-baseline single-case experimental design, including 9-12 women from different clinics.Societal relevance and utilisationFindings from this project can significantly improve postpartum care for women with childbirth-related posttraumatic stress.

Our intervention manual will be freely available, offering health care providers a way to comply with current national guidelines.Plan for project realisationThe project is run by a multidisciplinary team of experienced researchers, intervention providers, and collaborative partners. We have an already financed PhD student and a strong network of national clinicians and international researchers.

The budget mainly covers working time and expenses for data collection, collaboration, and dissemination.