Background: A distinct grief-specific disorder is included in the ICD-11. Lack of clarity remains regarding whether different proposed diagnostic criteria capture similar or different diagnostic entities. Our aim was to examine the specificity of four proposed diagnostic criteria-sets for pathological grief in a population-based sample.

Birth experiences can be traumatic and may give rise to PTSD following childbirth (PTSD-FC). Peripartum neurobiological alterations in the oxytocinergic system are highly relevant for postpartum maternal behavioral and affective adaptions like bonding and lactation but are also implicated in the response to traumatic events. Animal models demonstrated that peripartum stress impairs beneficial maternal postpartum behavior. Early postpartum activation of the oxytocinergic system may, however, reverse these effects and thereby prevent adverse long-term consequences for both mother and infant.

Psychological trauma has developed into a very common concept in the scientific community, in mental health care, as well as in popular language and mass media. The purpose of this article is to show the relevance of the discipline of traumatic stress studies to the field of public mental health by examining central concepts and findings concerning trauma and its aftermath and examining implications for public mental health.

Traumatic loss involves the loss of loved ones in the context of potentially traumatizing circumstances and is a commonly reported traumatic event. It may give rise to disturbed grief, called prolonged grief disorder (PGD) in ICD-11 and persistent complex bereavement disorder (PCBD) in DMS-5, combined with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression. The recent inclusion of grief disorders in both DSM-5 and ICD-11 have spurred research on grief-related psychopathology. This special issue on traumatic loss includes 10 articles and two letters.