Although many believe that posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) makes women sufferers more vulnerable to pre-term birth, there is not enough strong evidence until now.
One study suggests that women with PTSD are over 30% at risk of delivering their babies prematurely.
In a large-scale study performed by the researchers of Stanford University, in partnership with the Veterans' Affairs Department, they discovered that women with active PTSD, or those who have the symptoms within 12 months prior to their delivery, are 35% at risk of delivering a premature baby..
According to senior author Ciaran Phibbs, who also works as an associate professor of the university, the main culprit is stress, which alters many different biological responses, which can later induce pre-term delivery.
Her team believes that with this study, they can emphasize that women with active PTSD need to be treated right away in order to control their high stress level and significantly reduce the risk of pre-term births.
