Understanding psychological traumatic birth experiences: A literature review.

Traumatic birth experiences can cause postnatal mental health disturbance, fear of childbirth in subsequent pregnancies and disruption to mother-infant bonding, leading to impaired child development. Some women may develop postnatal Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, which is a particularly undesirable outcome. This paper aimed to gain a better understanding of factors contributing to birth trauma, and the efficacy of interventions that exist in the literature.