childbirth
Birth Trauma
Research indicates that between twenty-five and thirty-five percent of mothers consider their childbirth to be traumatic or disempowering. The psychological toll of a traumatic birth can lead to emotional distress, and a form of post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), that follows women into new motherhood. Importantly, it is the woman’s perception that determines whether her birth was traumatic, not whether clinical staff or caregivers agree. A birth can be traumatic even without physical harm to the mother or baby.
If your childbirth didn’t go the way you expected, you may feel sad, numb, guilty, angry, powerless or a range of other emotions. You may begin to show signs of PTSD and your transition to motherhood may not go as smoothly as you had hoped. You might also experience attachment and parenting difficulties, or your relationship with your partner may suffer. If you are struggling after a distressing childbirth, please know that therapy can help you recover and heal emotionally.
"What lies behind you and what lies
in front of you pales in comparison to
what lies inside you.”
-Og Mandino
Counseling can help you heal after a distressing or traumatic birth.
Psychotherapy is an effective way to heal after a distressing or traumatic childbirth. Often, women don’t talk about their negative birth experience. This can cause their feelings to intensify and may lead to rumination. Therapy can help women validate their birth experience and process the feelings associated with it. When trauma symptoms are present, therapy can also help women alleviate these symptoms so that they can move into motherhood in a peaceful and healthy way.
Because negative birth experiences are distinctive and associated with a wide range of distressing feelings and symptoms, it is important to work with a therapist who understands both trauma & the experience of childbirth. I have extensive training and experience treating perinatal trauma, and I have helped many women heal after a distressing or difficult birth experience.
Common Signs and Symptoms of PTSD After a Traumatic Birth
Not everyone who has experienced a distressing birth develops signs of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). When post-traumatic symptoms are present, I utilize specialized trauma treatments to help women feel better. These are some signs that your birth experience has resulted in PTSD symptoms:
Re-living aspects of the trauma (intrusive thoughts and images; nightmares; distress at real or symbolic reminders of the trauma)
Feeling on edge or hyper-alert (being easily upset, angry, irritable; being easily startled; having difficulty concentrating)
Physical sensations such as pain, sweating, nausea or trembling
Suppressing feelings or memories (avoiding situations or people that remind you of the birth; feeling detached/emotionally numb; keeping busy to distract yourself; being unable to remember aspects of the event; using alcohol or drugs to avoid memories)
Sleep difficulties
EMDR for Birth Trauma
I help women work through their birth trauma by drawing on a number of different mind-body approaches. When women exhibit post-traumatic symptoms, the use of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR ) is especially useful. EMDR involves reprocessing traumatic memories in order to heal emotionally. I have seen the power of combining EMDR with other forms of therapy and believe this is the best way to help women heal from a traumatic birth experience.
Please visit my EMDR page for more detailed information about this approach.
