Postnatal debriefing: women's need to talk after birth

Abstract

Background There is a lack of evidence of the clinical benefit of postnatal debriefing, but qualitative studies show that women value talking to a midwife after birth. However, a very small proportion of women accepted a postnatal discussion meeting at the district general hospital where the author worked. Aim To determine why some women need to talk to a professional after giving birth. Method A postal survey was sent to a sample of 447 women who gave birth during one calendar month at an NHS Trust in England. This instrument also included the impact of events scale (IES), which assessed women's feelings in relation to their recent experience of giving birth. A total of 170 women (38%) returned the completed form. Findings Some women need to talk about their birth experience after they have left the hospital. Women with symptoms of post-traumatic stress (PTS), measured by a high IES, were more likely to want to talk after giving birth and more likely to rate their experience of birth negatively, compared with those with a low IES. Approximately one-third of women who responded experienced high PTS symptoms. Conclusions Maternity providers should consider offering a postnatal listening service to meet women's needs in relation to understanding their experience of giving birth. This will also serve to identify women with PTS symptoms and offer further support.