A cross-sectional study on the relationship between post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms and psychological resilience among midwives in China

This study aimed to investigate the screening positive rate and identify the influential factors of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms among Chinese midwives, and to explore the correlation between PTSD symptoms and psychological resilience. From May to July 2025, a total of 526 midwives from 30 medical institutions across 15 Chinese provinces in China were recruited using convenience sampling. Online questionnaires were distributed, including a self-designed demographic characteristics, the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R), and the Chinese version of the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC). All statistical analyses were performed using SPSS 26.0. A total of 89.93% of midwives had witnessed at least one traumatic childbirth events. The mean PTSD score of participants was 36.99 ± 18.05, and 58.94% of midwives screened positive for clinically significant PTSD symptoms. The mean psychological resilience score was 60.34 ± 15.35, indicating a relatively low level of resilience. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that region, employment nature, frequency of witnessing traumatic childbirth events, job satisfaction, workload, and psychological resilience were factors influencing PTSD symptoms in midwives ( p < 0.05). Furthermore, PTSD symptom severity was negatively correlated with psychological resilience ( r = − 0.219, p < 0.001). Chinese midwives demonstrated a high prevalence of screening positive PTSD symptoms and relatively low psychological resilience. Managers should develop effective preventive measures based on relevant influencing factors. In addition to enhancing psychological resilience, they should strengthen organizational support, family support, and trauma-related training, and improve occupational identity through multidimensional measures to reduce the burden of PTSD symptoms among midwives.