The evaluation of posttraumatic stress findings of mothers in which a pregnancy following the diagnosis of a fetal abnormality or an intrauterine fetal demise was terminated

İNGİLİZCE ÖZET: The evaluation of posttraumatic stress findings of mothers in which a pregnancy following the diagnosis of a fetal abnormality or an intrauterine fetal demise was terminatedBACKGROUND: With increasing technology for screening and diagnostic testing in pregnancy, many more pregnant women and couples are faced with decisions to terminate their pregnancy after the second or third trimester of pregnancy. There is scarce research on people's experiences and posttraumatic stress findings of decisions they face following their termination. OBJECTIVES: To compare the experiences and posttraumatic stress findings of decisions that mothers face in the aftermath of ending a pregnancy following diagnosis of a serious fetal abnormality or an intrauterine fetal demise. SETTINGS: Participants were recruited through the archive of the Adnan Menderes University Hospital birth database (including the years 2008, 2009 and 2010) and interviewed between March 2010 and August 2010. PARTICIPANTS: Sixtyeight individual mothers who ended a pregnancy following diagnosis of fetal abnormality (28 mothers) or an intrauterine fetal demise (40 mothers).RESULTS: Mothers who had experienced the ending of a pregnancy following diagnosis of fetal abnormality or an intrauterine fetal demise described similar experiences. Facing painful decisions consequent upon their decision to terminate the pregnancy resulted in similar posttraumatic stress disorder scales. The mean results of the posttraumatic stress disorder scales for the fetal abnormality or an intrauterine fetal demise groups were asfollows: Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) 15.07 ± 11.16 and 13.80 ± 6.48; Clinician-Administered Posttraumatic Stres Disorder Scale (CAPS) 6.43 ± 3.08 and 6.85 ± 5.46; and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) 46.07 ± 4.02 and 49.03 ± 3.56, respectively. When statistically compared, the results of STAI scales were significantly different (p<0.05) between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: Most of the mothers experiencing the obligation to decide for the termination of pregnancy show serious posttraumatic stres findings. The decisions that people face in the aftermath of a termination for the diagnosis of a fetal abnormality or an intrauterine fetal demise are paralleling. Health professionals face difficult choices about what issues to raise with patients at this sensitive time, and the optimum time to inform patients of the extra decisions they will face. Obstetricians should be familiar with the management and the clinical acting of the diagnosis of a fetal abnormality and intrauterine fetal death as counselling will aid the couple?s grief process. More research is needed on whether these decisions have long term implications for people's mental health. Keywords: posttraumatic stress findings, termination of pregnancy, fetal abnormality, intrauterine fetal demise Correspondence: Dr. Saadet Yapıcı Emirbeyazıt Mah. Bayram Çetinkaya Cad. Furkan Apt. No: 34 D:13 MUGLA/TURKIYE Phone: +90 532 202 1346 e.mail: saadetyapici@yahoo.com