In plain words
The PCL-5 is a checklist of 20 questions about symptoms of post-traumatic stress. It asks how much a person has been bothered by problems such as nightmares, avoidance, , and intrusive memories over the past month. Scores are added up. A higher total suggests a closer assessment is needed. Some clinicians use it after a difficult birth, a pregnancy loss, or a . A checklist is a screen, not a diagnosis. Trauma symptoms after birth are more common than many people realize. Mothers may be offered support or a referral when their answers suggest these symptoms. Help is available from perinatal mental health services.
The deeper version
The PCL-5 is a 20-item self-report measure aligned with DSM-5 criteria for , scored 0 to 80 (Blevins et al., 2015), with a provisional cut-point of 31 to 33 commonly used. Perinatal studies have used it to measure trauma after birth and pregnancy loss, and some have reported higher symptom rates than in the general population. The PC-PTSD-5 is a briefer screen used in primary care. Assessment after a positive screen requires clinical interview, and screening alone does not establish a diagnosis. Evidence on perinatal prevalence is heterogeneous across samples.
Where it comes up
- Birth trauma and postpartum PTSDPostpartum: Mind
- Pregnancy after a lossPregnancy: Mind and Life
- Partners and lossLoss and Complications
What mothers here say about PCL-5
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Sources
- Blevins CA et al. — The PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5): development and initial psychometric evaluation. Journal of Traumatic Stress 2015
- American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists — Committee Opinion 757: Screening for perinatal depression, 2018