Abstract: Pain catastrophizing is an exaggerated negative psychological setting for experiencing actual or expected pain experiences. The pain catastrophizing of pregnant and postpartum women will not only increase their fear of labor pain, but may also affect their postpartum recovery. This paper aims to review the overview of pain catastrophizing, theoretical model, evaluation tools and the influence on pregnant and postpartum women, actively explore the research perspective in the field of pain catastrophizing, comprehensively and systematically understand the current situation of pain catastrophizing in pregnant and postpartum women, bring clinical staff attention to the pain catastrophizing and provide a reference for pain management implementation in obstetrics.

Key words: pregnant and postpartum women; pain; catastrophizing; pain catastrophizing; review