Women’s postpartum mental health in Israel after terror: childbirth-related trauma following the October 7 attack

Aims: This study aimed to examine the impact of the 7 October 2023 terror attack in Israel on maternal mental health during the early postpartum period, among women who gave birth in the weeks immediately preceding or following the event. While not designed to directly assess broader sociopolitical contexts, the study aimed to situate postpartum mental health within the lived reality of large-scale terror, to better understand its potential psychological impact. Method: A total of 216 postpartum women were sampled online following the 7/10/23 terror attack. They answered questions related to the consequences of the war and were compared to a control group of 265 postpartum women, sampled two years earlier, on mental health measures (City BiTS, EPDS, PBQ). Results: Women sampled post-7/10 scored higher on all measured variables (City BiTS, EPDS, PBQ), including probable depression (EPDS ≥13; post-7/10: 39 women [18%], control: 8 women [3.7%]) and PTSD (post-7/10: 11 women [5.1%], control: 2 women [0.7%]). No group difference emerged in the number of women fulfiling Criterion A. Only direct physical or psychological exposure was associated with some childbirth-related PTSD measures, and having a spouse in the army was associated with postpartum depression. Conclusions: This study highlights the heightened vulnerability of women in the postpartum period within the context of war. The impact of terror was evident even in birth-related PTSD symptoms, suggesting that similar birth events may be experienced as more traumatic when occurring within a broader context of collective trauma.