Knowledge and Attitudes of PTSD, Postpartum Depression, and Postpartum PTSD among Pregnant People

Purpose: Despite the high prevalence of depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), most people lack awareness of related signs, symptoms, coping strategies, and effective treatments. Knowledge about these disorders during the postpartum period may be particularly limited and prevent people in need from seeking professional help. This study investigated mental health literacy around postpartum depression (PP-D), PTSD, and postpartum PTSD (PP-PTSD). Methods: Pregnant people (N = 164; 72% White; 99% female) answered questions about vignettes describing someone with PP-D, PTSD, or PP-PTSD and rated how likely they would be to recommend professional help. Knowledge and attitudes of PP-D, PTSD, and PP-PTSD were evaluated using descriptive statistics and mixed effects regression models. Results: Participants demonstrated knowledge of all disorders but were significantly more knowledgeable about PP-D than PP-PTSD. Participants commonly recommended that the person described in the vignette seek help from a mental health professional (as opposed to other sources of support, such as their family), with no significant differences across vignettes. Results also indicated that knowledge moderated the relationship between vignette and likelihood of recommending professional mental health help. Specifically, there was a stronger relationship between knowledge and the likelihood of recommending professional mental health help for the PTSD vignette than for the PP-PTSD vignette. Conclusion: While it is encouraging that pregnant people seem to have general knowledge about various mental health concerns, there remains a gap in recognizing and referring help for people presenting with PP-PTSD.