- Inability to sleep even when the baby is sleeping
- Nightmares or flashbacks of the events surrounding the birth
- Increased anxiety
- Being overly aware of potential dangers that could hurt you or your baby
- Feeling disconnected from yourself or the baby
- Memory loss or noting gaps in memory for part of the birth
- Avoiding people or places associated with the birth
- Postpartum post-traumatic stress disorder
- Panic attacks that begin suddenly without warning and last a few minutes
Symptoms of traumatic birth may include:
- Fear of impending doom
- Heart palpitations
- Chest pain
- Sweating
- Breathlessness
- Nausea
- Shaking
- Numbness
Any of these trauma responses can occur without warning and range from mild to severe. They can interrupt your life and relationships. It’s important to know the symptoms so you and your partner can reach out for support. If you ignore how you’re feeling, it’s possible that if you become pregnant again, you could experience delays in seeking out prenatal care or denials of the pregnancy.
So, how do you become empowered and begin the process of emotional healing from birth trauma?
Healing from Birth Trauma
Treatment is available to address the psychological complications of a traumatic birth. Recovery is a day-by-day process.
Validate your Feelings: Your feelings are not something to ignore, thinking “they’ll just go away”. All feelings have value. Sometimes, parents are told not to be sad when they have a “healthy baby” or to just be grateful that the situation was not worse. Accepting this way of thinking can prolong your grief. You’re allowed to feel what you feel, and it’s important not to hide or invalidate your true feelings.
Tell your Birth Story: Share your experience with a trusted friend, partner, or therapist. Verbally describing how you felt can be incredibly satisfying and help reduce feelings of isolation.
Join a Support Group: Support groups, in-person or online, can be valuable. Connect with others who’ve had similar experiences. You may begin to feel comforted and understood. This safe space allows you to share your thoughts and learn about resources.
Seek Professional Support: Talk to a therapist who specializes in birth trauma. You may find it beneficial to try a proven evidence-based therapy like:
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
- Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT)
These are often short courses of therapy over weeks or months that can help you process the trauma. Medications may also be an option; talk to your healthcare provider to see what may work for you. Many medications can be prescribed temporarily, help reduce symptoms, enhance talk therapy, and are compatible with breastfeeding.
Self-Care and Mindfulness: Breathing and strategies that keep you present and calm in the moment help you refocus and decrease some of your negative thoughts. Practices like journaling, meditation, and yoga can help reduce anxiety and improve your overall well-being.
Planning to Give Birth Again
Use these strategies to ensure that you’re not triggered by past experiences in a subsequent pregnancy after birth trauma.
Talk with your Pregnancy Care Providers: Make sure your healthcare team knows about your previous trauma. Let them know how you felt when things were happening, not just what happened. Sometimes, a therapist can help you put your experience into words to explain it to your healthcare provider. When you open up and when they listen, the communication barriers fade allowing them to provide better care, support your needs, and not trigger you from past experiences.
Create a Birth Plan: A written birth plan helps you share your preferences and gives you control to think through alternatives in advance. Be specific about what you want and procedures you want to avoid. Talk to your pregnancy care provider about different birth options while you’re pregnant. Hire a birth doula who can stand with you in advocating for your wishes.
Healing from birth trauma is a process, but recovery is possible. See resources below to get started.
- National Maternal Mental Health Hotline : Call or text 1-833-852-6262
- Postpartum Support International: Call 1-800-944-4773 or visit Postpartum.net
- Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: Call or text 988.
Giving birth and recovering afterwards is physically and mentally challenging. Your childbirth experience can affect your physical and mental health in ways that lead to difficulty caring for yourself and your baby. Sadly, you wouldn’t be alone; in the U.S., 45% of new moms experience birth trauma.
What is Birth Trauma?
You may easily recognize your physical complications after giving birth and your pregnancy care provider may address them quickly. However, the psychological aspects of recovering from a traumatic birth aren’t always identified or acknowledged. If you or your partner felt distressed or disturbed at any point during your childbirth experience, this can be considered birth trauma. It includes:
- Disappointment with your childbirth experience due to disrespect from providers
- Not being listened to when you request support or answers to questions
- Physical complications, like perineal tearing or excessive bleeding
- Change in birth plan (e.g., emergency cesarean when you planned for a vaginal birth)
- Pushing assistance by your provider using medical devices
- Injury or bruising to your baby
- Baby transferred to the neonatal intensive care unit
- You were transferred to the intensive care unit for your recovery
- Emergency hysterectomy (removal of your uterus)
Birth Trauma Effects
Childbirth is intimate and personal; no two experiences, even for one individual, are the same. Also, you and your partner may have different responses to the physical and/or emotional distress you experience.
The effects of a traumatic birth with your baby can show up in many ways:
- Inability to sleep even when the baby is sleeping
- Nightmares or flashbacks of the events surrounding the birth
- Increased anxiety
- Being overly aware of potential dangers that could hurt you or your baby
- Feeling disconnected from yourself or the baby
- Memory loss or noting gaps in memory for part of the birth
- Avoiding people or places associated with the birth
- Postpartum post-traumatic stress disorder
- Panic attacks that begin suddenly without warning and last a few minutes
Symptoms of traumatic birth may include:
- Fear of impending doom
- Heart palpitations
- Chest pain
- Sweating
- Breathlessness
- Nausea
- Shaking
- Numbness
Any of these trauma responses can occur without warning and range from mild to severe. They can interrupt your life and relationships. It’s important to know the symptoms so you and your partner can reach out for support. If you ignore how you’re feeling, it’s possible that if you become pregnant again, you could experience delays in seeking out prenatal care or denials of the pregnancy.
So, how do you become empowered and begin the process of emotional healing from birth trauma?
Healing from Birth Trauma
Treatment is available to address the psychological complications of a traumatic birth. Recovery is a day-by-day process.
Validate your Feelings: Your feelings are not something to ignore, thinking “they’ll just go away”. All feelings have value. Sometimes, parents are told not to be sad when they have a “healthy baby” or to just be grateful that the situation was not worse. Accepting this way of thinking can prolong your grief. You’re allowed to feel what you feel, and it’s important not to hide or invalidate your true feelings.
Tell your Birth Story: Share your experience with a trusted friend, partner, or therapist. Verbally describing how you felt can be incredibly satisfying and help reduce feelings of isolation.
Join a Support Group: Support groups, in-person or online, can be valuable. Connect with others who’ve had similar experiences. You may begin to feel comforted and understood. This safe space allows you to share your thoughts and learn about resources.
Seek Professional Support: Talk to a therapist who specializes in birth trauma. You may find it beneficial to try a proven evidence-based therapy like:
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
- Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT)
These are often short courses of therapy over weeks or months that can help you process the trauma. Medications may also be an option; talk to your healthcare provider to see what may work for you. Many medications can be prescribed temporarily, help reduce symptoms, enhance talk therapy, and are compatible with breastfeeding.
Self-Care and Mindfulness: Breathing and strategies that keep you present and calm in the moment help you refocus and decrease some of your negative thoughts. Practices like journaling, meditation, and yoga can help reduce anxiety and improve your overall well-being.
Planning to Give Birth Again
Use these strategies to ensure that you’re not triggered by past experiences in a subsequent pregnancy after birth trauma.
Talk with your Pregnancy Care Providers: Make sure your healthcare team knows about your previous trauma. Let them know how you felt when things were happening, not just what happened. Sometimes, a therapist can help you put your experience into words to explain it to your healthcare provider. When you open up and when they listen, the communication barriers fade allowing them to provide better care, support your needs, and not trigger you from past experiences.
Create a Birth Plan: A written birth plan helps you share your preferences and gives you control to think through alternatives in advance. Be specific about what you want and procedures you want to avoid. Talk to your pregnancy care provider about different birth options while you’re pregnant. Hire a birth doula who can stand with you in advocating for your wishes.
Healing from birth trauma is a process, but recovery is possible. See resources below to get started.
- National Maternal Mental Health Hotline : Call or text 1-833-852-6262
- Postpartum Support International: Call 1-800-944-4773 or visit Postpartum.net
- Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: Call or text 988.
