Prevention of Intrusive Memories and Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms After Emergency Cesarean Section

Can Playing Tetris Prevent the Development of Traumatic Intrusions in Mothers Following an Emergency Cesarean Section? A Pilot Study

This pilot study aims to investigate the effects of a brief computerized intervention (the computer game "Tetris") on intrusive memories and other posttraumatic stress symptoms following an emergency cesarean section. Patients who have undergone an emergency cesarian section will be randomly allocated to either the brief computerized intervention or usual care within the first 6 hours following the operation. Participants will be followed up at one week and one month. It is predicted that participants given the brief computerized intervention will develop fewer intrusive memories and less severe clinical symptoms than those who are not. This will inform the potential future development of a simple computerized intervention to prevent distressing psychological symptoms after a traumatic event such as an emergency cesarean section.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Female, aged 18+ years
• Had emergency caesarean section within the past 6 hours
• Have given birth to a live baby at ≥ 37 weeks gestation

Exclusion Criteria:

• Do not speak French sufficiently well to participate in assessments
• Have established intellectual disability or psychotic illness
• Baby was transferred to intensive care unit after the birth