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This page is an AI-assisted Turkish summary of the study presented at the 26th World Congress of Psychiatry. The study belongs to the presenting authors; please refer to the original source when citing it.

EV1357

The impact of war-related stress on birth outcomes: A cohort study of pregnant Lebanese women

THE IMPACT OF WAR-RELATED STRESS ON BIRTH OUTCOMES: A COHORT STUDY AMONG LEBANESE PREGNANT WOMEN

Greater severity of war-related maternal PTSD symptoms is associated with more pregnancy complications and adverse neonatal outcomes.

The study aimed to quantify the association between the severity of war-related maternal PTSD symptoms during pregnancy and adverse pregnancy and neonatal outcomes in Lebanon. In a prospective cohort design, 328 pregnant women were followed from pregnancy through delivery. Exposure was assessed using the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5; range 0–80, with higher scores indicating more severe symptoms), and outcomes were assessed in terms of pregnancy complications, 5-minute Apgar scores, neonatal anthropometric measurements, and neonatal complications. Models were adjusted for age, displacement, loss, and socioeconomic and demographic factors. In adjusted analyses, a 1-point increase in the 5-minute Apgar score was associated with a 2.98-point decrease in the PCL-5 score, a 1 kg increase in birth weight with an 11.0-point decrease, and a 1 cm increase in head circumference with a 2.22-point decrease (all p < 0.001). Adjusted differences in PCL-5 scores according to the presence of complications were reported as +39.38 for miscarriage, +15.90 for preterm labor, +14.73 for bleeding, and +9.24 for hypertension. For neonatal outcomes, neonatal intensive care unit admission was associated with a +17.09-point difference in PCL-5 scores, respiratory distress with +14.81, and jaundice with +14.34 (p < 0.001). Resilience did not significantly moderate the association between overall neonatal complications and PTSD (F = 1.25; p = 0.29); only an exploratory interaction between intensive care admission and the Brief Resilience Scale (BRS) was observed (beta = -8.41; p = 0.012). The authors state that these preliminary findings support integrating maternal mental health screening into obstetric and neonatal monitoring in conflict-affected settings and prioritizing psychosocial support for displaced and trauma-exposed pregnant women.

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