Childbirth Experiences and the Impact on Mental Health in Saudi Arabia

Abstract Background: In recent years, there has been growing awareness of how childbirth experiences have an impact on the mental health of women. Our research aims to expand Saudi research in this area by exploring positive and negative childbirth experiences and their impact on poor mental health in the postpartum period. Materials and Methods: This was an analytic observational cross-sectional questionnaire-based study that included a sample of 295 women who have experienced childbirth in Saudi Arabia in the past 5 years, including women over the age of 18 and excluding women with a history of stillbirths during their most recent labor. Results: Our results have shown that the majority 49.2% (145) of women had an overall positive childbirth experience during their last birth, and that 21.4% (63) of women had a negative childbirth experience. A significant number of women with negative childbirth experience suffered from poor postpartum mental health outcomes, manifested as anxiety and feelings of worry without reason 61.9% (39), feeling sad or miserable 66.7% (42), and a strong desire to cry frequently 76.2% (48). 27.1% (80) reported that their previous births, other than the last one, were psychologically or physically more traumatic than expected, and 24.1% (71) reported that for their last birth. Conclusion: Poor postpartum mental health is related to negative childbirth experiences, and this is consistent with global findings. By better caring for mothers during childbirth and creating positive childbirth experiences, women’s mental health can be enhanced in the postpartum period.