A study published in last month’s issue of Obstetrics and Gynecology suggests that post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is quite common in pregnant women. In fact, among the 1,581 women evaluated, more than 80% reported experiencing trauma (i.e. domestic violence, previous history of a difficult abortion or miscarriage) that could trigger PTSD. Other risk factors included socioeconomic status and a history of mental health issues (i.e. depression, anxiety, family problems). PTSD also tended to be common among women attending publicly insured clinics.

In a recent post, I wrote that that pregnancy, a prior history of C-sections and a history of domestic violence are considered preexisting conditions by insurers in several states as well as in the District of Columbia. This implies that many women of childbearing age are currently denied coverage or forced to add expensive, unaffordable riders to obtain appropriate, and in some cases, minimal maternal health care. Coupled with these disturbing data that suggest that PTSD is probably more common among pregnant women than ever, and that the factors that trigger PTSD overlap with insurer’s preexisting red flags, demonstrate that change is a reproductive right.

The Healthcare Reform bill that passed the House includes a clause that prohibits insurers from using domestic violence as a preexisting condition. This is an important first step towards ameliorating PTSD in pregnant women. However, should it fail to pass the Senate, one has to wonder if additional financial burdens imposed by lack of access will only serve to increase risk?

Pregnant, traumatized, stressed and declined: four additional reasons why reproductive health reform is essential.

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Citation: Seng JS et al. Prevalence, trauma history and risk for posttraumatic stress disorder among nulliparous women in maternity care. Obstet Gynecol 2009; 114:839-847.

This entry was posted on Friday, November 13th, 2009 at 12:33 pm and is filed under Health Reform, Women's Health. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.