Abstract: This paper summarized the currently available universal and maternal-specific assessment tools for birth trauma and associated secondary mental health problems, including assessment of trauma events, perinatal risk and protective factors, posttraumatic stress disorder and perinatal grief. The results of the review suggested that clinicians should pay attention to the impact of birth trauma on women, and select scientific and accurate assessment tools to identify birth trauma among women during childbirth, therefore address its adverse effects as early as possible and carry out targeted interventions promptly.

Key words: birth trauma; peripartum period; mental health; posttraumatic stress disorder; review