Association of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Exposure and Treatment in Pregnancy with Pregnancy, Obstetric and Neonatal Outcomes
Abstract
A particular condition for which there is a dearth of pregnancy information is Post-Traumatic Stress disorder (PTSD). This thesis aimed to evaluate PTSD exposure and treatment in pregnancy. Our first study was a systematic review, meta-analysis, and GRADE assessment that reported associations between maternal PTSD exposure with pregnancy, obstetric, and neonatal outcomes. Our second study was a prospective evaluation of pregnancy outcomes after prazosin exposure in the first trimester of pregnant patients who were counselled at the Fetal Risk Assessment from Maternal Exposures (FRAME) clinic. Our review and analysis found positive associations between PTSD in pregnancy and some adverse pregnancy outcomes including conflicting evidence suggestive that maternal PTSD was associated with increased odds of having a low birthweight infant and preterm birth. Our prospective study found that pregnancy outcomes after prazosin exposure appeared to align with unexposed pregnancy outcomes. Together, these findings contribute to providing information to improve perinatal and neonatal health
Keywords: Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), pregnancy, fetal risk assessment from maternal exposures (FRAME), prazosin, perinatal health, neonatal health.