Birth debriefing

Living with the after-effects of a bad or traumatic pregnancy/birth isn’t easy. You may be able to get on with everyday life but, every now and again, the memory of how you felt when you were pregnant or during labour will shoot up and cause mental pain, anguish, emotional fear, terror even. Quite often, if you ever tell anyone your birth story, it will often end with the listener saying something like “But look, you’ve got a lovely baby at the end of it all so it’s not so bad!”

Yes, actually, it is! Yes, you have a lovely baby and you love them to bits but that doesn’t take away the memory of this very discomforting experience, or the anger, the sadness, the resentment or fear that you feel. It doesn’t take away from the fact that you may now be too scared to have another baby, thus affecting the decisions you make throughout your life.

But there is a way for you to recover from a bad pregnancy or birth. Based on an NLP approach, 3 Step Rewind is a non-intrusive, safe and highly effective psychological method for de-traumatising people. This technique has brought relief to hundreds of parents and families who are experiencing trauma after a difficult birth experience.

Trauma can remain with you for a very long time if it’s not dealt with. If you currently feel that the memory of your birth is stilll very present in your mind and you have been unable to “put it behind you”, then a birth debrief using the 3 Step Rewind Technique may be just what you need. Symptoms of trauma can include anger and irritability, resentment of other people’s births, nightmares, panic attacks, fear of failure and problems within your relationships.

This technique is not therapy or counselling but it is a way of eliminating the symptoms of trauma in three steps.

You may not have been clinically diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) due to your birth as only about 5% of people are diagnosed with PTSD but many more birthing parents perceive their children’s births as distressing and it has significantly affected their lives and their transition into parenthood.

Trauma can also present itself during pregnancy (tokophobia) and when breastfeeding. It isn’t limited to the birthing parent but to birth partners and other people in the birthing room, who can also be affected by this.

3 Step Rewind involves three, occasionally four, stages:

1. You can share your birth story or not. I do not need to hear it if it is going to be too upsetting for you but I will give you the space you need to talk if you wish to. I will ask you what changes you would like to see once your symptoms have been resolved and I will guide you in a gentle meditation. You will be sent an MP3 of this guided meditation so that you can listen to this as often as you want, even after a resolution has been achieved.

2. I will guide you into a deep relaxing meditation where you will be able to observe your traumatic experience from a safe distance and I will be there throughout, checking to see that you are comfortable with the process.

3. By this session, most people have found that their memory of their experience has shifted and often have found positive moments within and around the birth. If you do not feel that you have significantly moved on, the rewind technique can be repeated.

4. Either at the third or fourth session, we will imagine a future where you no longer have these discomforting feelings and are feeling positive about parenting, yourself and even imagining another pregnancy, if that is what you want.

If you would like to find out more about this safe and gentle way to work through birth trauma, please contact me for a free discussion so I can explain the process in more depth. Sesssions can take place both in person and online. The cost of the 3 Step Rewind Technique for three sessions online via Zoom is £120. For in-person sessions, it is £150 for three sessions. Additional sessions cost £20 each. However, if cost is a barrier to you accessing help, get in touch and let’s talk as I would rather you get the help you need now, rather than delay it. Alternatively, you can book the sessions and I’ll get back to you to arrange a time and day that suits you. The 3 Step Rewind Technique really works and I am constantly amazed at the changes that take place within people.