Single-session visuospatial task procedure to prevent childbirth-related posttraumatic stress disorder: a multicentre double-blind randomised controlled trial

Preventive evidence-based interventions for childbirth-related posttraumatic stress disorder (CB-PTSD) are lacking. Yet, 18.5% of women develop CB-PTSD symptoms following an unplanned caesarean section (UCS). This two-arm, multicentre, double-blind superiority trial tested the efficacy of an early single-session intervention including a visuospatial task on the prevention of maternal CB-PTSD symptoms. The intervention was delivered by trained maternity clinicians. Shortly after UCS, women were included if they gave birth to a live baby, provided consent, and perceived their childbirth as traumatic. Participants were randomly assigned to the intervention or attention-placebo group (allocation ratio 1:1). Assessments were done at birth, six weeks, and six months postpartum. Group differences in maternal CB-PTSD symptoms at six weeks (primary outcomes) and six months postpartum (secondary outcomes) were assessed with the self-report PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5) and by blinded research assessors with the Clinician-administered PTSD scale for DSM-5 (CAPS-5). Analysis was by intention-to-treat. The trial was prospectively registered (ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03576586). Of the 2068 women assessed for eligibility, 166 were eligible and 146 were randomly assigned to the intervention ( n = 74) or attention-placebo control group ( n = 72). For the PCL-5, at six weeks, a marginally significant intervention effect was found on the total PCL-5 PTSD symptom count (β = −0.43, S.E. = 0.23, z = −1.88, p < 0.06), and on the intrusions (β = −0.73, S.E. = 0.38, z = −1.94, p < 0.0525) and arousal (β = −0.55, S.E. = 0.29, z = −1.92, p < 0.0552) clusters. At six months, a significant intervention effect on the total PCL-5 PTSD symptom count (β = −0.65, S.E. = 0.32, z = −2.04, p = 0.041, 95%CI[−1.27, −0.03]), on alterations in cognition and mood (β = −0.85, S.E. = 0.27, z = −3.15, p = 0.0016) and arousal (β = −0.56, S.E. = 0.26, z = −2.19, p < 0.0289, 95%CI[−1.07, −0.06]) clusters appeared. No group differences on the CAPS-5 emerged. Results provide evidence that this brief, single-session intervention carried out by trained clinicians can prevent the development of CB-PTSD symptoms up to six months postpartum.