Birth trauma .....
I’ve heard so many stories recently of mums who are being induced and left on their own because of the restrictions put into place due to Covid and some of these mums are reporting back they have had traumatic births.
I don’t understand why there is such a race to medicalise births now because all the research indicates that a natural birth at home, in a midwife-led unit or birthing centre have long term benefits for the birthing mother and her baby. Why Covid is used as a reason to push inductions and caesareans is beyond me, particularly when there are restrictions in place on how long your birthing partner can stay with you. This can only exacerbate any feelings of fear and anxiety that you may have.
What is birth trauma?
Birth trauma doesn’t just refer to physical injuries sustained by the mother or child during birth. The Birth Trauma Association defines birth trauma as PTSD following birth. As they state: “A traumatic experience can be any experience involving the threat of death or serious injury to an individual or another person close to them (e.g. their baby) so it is now understood that PTSD can be a consequence of a traumatic birth.”
What causes birth trauma?
There is no one defining cause but there are certain risk factors involved including emergency Caesarean sections, instrumental deliveries, not being kept informed of what’s going on by medical staff and not having clear explanations of why certain practices are suggested and a lack of postnatal care. There are other causes including ineffective pain relief.
The expectations that you have of your birth can be significantly different to your experience of birth. Comprehensive antenatel education with relaxation, breathing and hypnosis will take you far but if your medical team are pushing to medicalise your birth, it can be difficult to stand your ground when you’re in the middle of labour.
What can you do if you feel traumatised by your birth? You have to first acknowledge that you have PTSD in order to recover from it. Once you identify how you feel, there are several ways to treat birth trauma and you can contact the Birth Trauma Assoication for help and guidance.
Counselling and talking therapies can help you to make sense of the experience and help you to find solutions and understand your feelings. Many women find that the Three Step Rewind Technique effective. This is a well tested technique that neutralises the disturbing feelings associated with the trauma you have experienced.
Debriefing by talking to your medical team about your experience and finding out why certain actions were taken. However, this shouldn’t be a one-off event but rather as part of a support system available from family and friends.
Antidepressants may be offered and may help you to cope with the negative feelings that are a symptom of PTSD and your doctor should explain what side effects there are and if it is safe to continue breast feeding.
EMDR - eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing - has been recognised by the World Health Organisation as a treatment for PTSD. It works by helping you to process the traumatic experience through eye movement.
Whatever form of treatment you are offered or decide to pursue, there is help out there. Don’t be put off or feel you are over-dramatising your experience if people tell you that you’ll soon forget what happened or you should be happy because you have a healthy baby.
If you feel that you have been traumatised by your birth, talk to your GP, to your health visitor and get help as soon as you can. You can recover really well from birth trauma and go on to have happy, healthy births if you choose. It’s your experience and it is valid - don’t be scared to ask for help and talk to your family and friends about how you are feeling.
Being a parent is hard at the best of times and you need to feel as healthy as possible - both mentally and physically.