Grant: Doctoral Research Award: Canada Graduate Scholarships

Up to 50% of females have traumatic childbirth experiences. A birth is traumatic when the life of the mom or baby is threatened. After a traumatic birth, 15-19% of moms develop posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). PTSD harms the mom's well-being, the infant's growth, and the bond between mom and baby. Preventing these harmful effects is key to improving females' and infants' health after birth. Prevention starts with recognizing symptoms and helpful treatments. However, health providers in Canada lack the training to spot PTSD symptoms and helpful treatments. This study aims to improve health care for females with PTSD after childbirth by addressing providers' lack of training. This goal will be met in two stages. In Stage 1, providers across Canada will complete a survey. The survey will ask them what content and type of training they need, like written guides or an in-person class. The training materials will then be made based on their answers. In Stage 2, 30 providers across Canada will test the training and complete a survey before and after. The survey will have two goals. The first goal is to see if the training improves their ability to recognize symptoms and helpful treatments. To do this, providers will read a story about a woman experiencing PTSD after a traumatic birth and be asked to identify symptoms and helpful treatments. Their score on the task before and after the training will be compared to see if the training improved their ability to recognize symptoms and helpful treatments. The second goal is to ask for their feedback on the materials after the training. Their feedback will be used to refine the training. By developing and testing the effectiveness of this training, the results will contribute to the fields of psychology and women's health. This study will improve females' health after a traumatic birth by improving their providers' ability to spot PTSD and connect them to care.