Traumatic stress disorder and affecting factors in couples after perinatal loss

Aim: The research was conducted to determine the post-traumatic stress disorder and the affecting factors in couples after perinatal loss. Material and Method: The cross-sectional study was carried out at Malatya Education and Research Hospital Beydağı Campus and İnönü University Turgut Özal Medical Center in obstetrics and gynecology departments. The sample of the study consisted of 154 pairs (154 female and 154 male) who experienced perinatal loss. Data were collected from February-November 2017 with the Personal Information Forms (men and women) and the Influence of Events Scale (IES). Number, percentage distribution, mean, standard deviation, one way variance analysis, Kruskal Wallis, Mann Whitney-U and t test were used in the analysis of the data. Result: It was determined that the mean total score of HPL was 39.51 ± 15.31 in women and 28.30 ± 13.74 in men and the difference between the groups was statistically significant (p <0.05). Working women had less PTSD than those who did not (p <0.05); it was determined that women who terminated between the ages of 22-29 weeks of gestation and women who completed between 38 and over weeks experienced more PTSD than those who ended between 30-37 weeks (p <0.05). The lower the level of education and income in males, the less PTSD was experienced (p <0.05); men who did not drink alcohol and who had a baby after birth were found to have less PTSD (p <0.05). Conclusion: PTSD after perinatal loss is more common in women than in men. In females, your pregnancy is terminated and functioning between 30-37 gestational weeks; while in males, having a postpartum baby, having no alcohol, having high education and income level decreases the level of PTSD. Key Words: Midwifery, Perinatal loss, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder