The relationship of childhood traumas and transferred psychological traumas with traumatic birth perception in midwifery students

This research was conducted to examine the relationship of childhood traumas and transferred psychological traumas with traumatic birth perception in midwifery students. The data of this research were collected from midwifery departments of universities affiliated to the Higher Education Institution in seven regions of Turkey between December 2022 and May 2023. Cluster sampling method was used in the research and 1062 people were included in the study. The data of the research were collected with "Personal Information Form" which includes socio-demographic information, "Childhood Mental Trauma Scale" (CTS) which evaluates Childhood Traumas, "Transferred Trauma Scale" which evaluates transferred traumas and "Traumatic Birth Perception Scale" which evaluates Traumatic Birth Perception. The data were analysed through descriptive statistics, independent sample t-test, one-way ANOVA analysis and Pearson Correlation Analysis. It was seen that the majority of the participants had a nuclear family type with a middle income level. They were mostly born by vaginal delivery and an average of 3.13 siblings. The type of settlement where the majority of the participants lived the longest was a city and the educational attainments of their mothers and fathers were primary school and high school or above respectively. It was also determined that majority of the participants had traumatic experiences neither in their own lives nor in their nuclear and extended families. The total mean score of the students from the CTQ, APTS and TTAS were found to be 49.43±23.26, 50.80±10.30 and 61.01±23.35 respectively. It was determined that 62.9% of the students had a medium level and above DBT and that the region where they studied and the educational attainment level of the mother were effective in the DBT (p<.05). A positive correlation was found between DBT and CTQ total score and all sub-dimensions. Similarly, there was a positive correlation between APTS total score and emotion-behavioural regulation, and past family traumas sub-dimension as well. On the other hand, no correlation existed between family functionality sub-dimension (p<.05, p>). 05). As a result, it was determined that childhood traumas and transferred psychological traumas were effective in DBT of midwifery students. In this sense, it can be recommended that contents aimed at developing midwifery students' self-awareness about their traumas and increasing their psychological resilience in their education process should be integrated into the curriculum, and that they should be cooperated and guided so that they can receive professional support for trauma symptoms.