Parents’ Posttraumatic Reactions and Trauma-Related Cognitions after Premature Birth

The aim of the present study was to explore the differences between mothers’ and fathers’ posttraumatic reactions and cognitions after preterm birth. According to Euro-Peristat data, premature births constitute an average of 6.9% of all live births in Europe and potentiate a severely stressful event for parents resulting in different posttraumatic reactions. In accordance with the posttraumatic stress cognitive model, negative cognitive appraisals are critical in sustaining of posttraumatic stress reactions and the development of posttraumatic stress disorder in parents following traumatic childbirth. Some research demonstrated evidence of different parental reactions – fathers showed a more delayed onset in their posttraumatic reactions, but, by 4 months, were at even greater risk than mothers. Therefore, psychological support for fathers was missed or even denied. In this study of the psychological effect of premature birth, mothers and fathers were asked to complete the Impact of Event Scale-Revised and Posttraumatic Cognitions Inventory. Data has been collected from 30 mothers and 24 fathers up to 18 months after birth. Fathers’ and mothers posttraumatic reactions after the premature birth of the infant are significantly different during the time course where fathers showed lower posttraumatic reactions than mothers in the first months, then exceeded reactions of mothers around 7–12 months and equalized around 13–18 months. Differences in trauma-related cognitions for mothers and fathers were noted – fathers had significantly higher scores in the self-blame scale in six months since birth and higher scores in the negative cognitions about the world scale in the next six months. Collected data could help to plan and implement appropriate support for parents of preterm birth infants.