Table 3.

Inclusion and exclusion criteria

Topic	Inclusion criteria	Exclusion criteria
Research focus	· The relationship between severe maternal morbidity that occurred during pregnancy until the end of the first week postpartum and the onset of PTSD/PTSD symptoms within 2 years postpartum	· Studies of PTSD/PTSD symptoms associated with miscarriage and abortion
		· Studies of PTSD/PTSD symptoms associated with medical procedure or medical intervention per se (e.g. caesarean section) without including severe maternal morbidity as a predictor of PTSD/PTSD symptoms
		· Other postnatal psychological and physical problems
		· Studies of PTSD/PTSD symptoms in pregnant women not associated with pregnancy related events but with others such as conflict, accidents or natural disasters
		· Studies examining the effects of pre-existing PTSD/PTSD symptoms on future pregnancies
Population	· Women who experienced (severe) maternal morbidity (eg. Major obstetric haemorrhage, pre-eclampsia/eclampsia, HELLP syndrome, admission to intensive/special care unit)	Childbearing women in general (of whom, women who experienced severe maternal morbidity not distinguishable)
Setting/countries	· No restriction made	· None
Study type/design	· Observational studies	· Descriptive studies with no comparison group
	· Experimental studies with relevant data	· Qualitative studies
	· Systematic reviews which examined the relationship between severe maternal morbidity and subsequent postnatal PTSD/PTSD symptoms	· Letter, commentary, news or short communications
		· Repeated findings originated from same study
Language	· English	· Non-English
Publication	· Published and grey literature	· None
Time frame	· Studies published from 1970	· Studies published before 1970