What is birth trauma?

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The societal expectations of smooth, uncomplicated pregnancies and births often don’t correspond with reality. Birth experiences vary widely for women and for those who are present at the birth itself (birth partners). As a Clinical Psychologist and EMDR Therapist, I have treated several women who have had a difficult and traumatic birth experience.
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Birth trauma happens when you go through a frightening, difficult, stressful or distressing event related to giving birth. This includes complications before, during and after the birth such as:
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• concerns about the baby in-utero
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• a difficult labour with a long and painful delivery
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• assisted births (i.e. forceps or vacuum delivery)
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• perineal tears
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• emergency c-sections
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• emergency treatment for you or your baby (including admission to NICU)

Birth trauma can develop into postnatal post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and recent research shows that 4% to 5% of women in the UK will develop PTSD after giving birth to their baby. Many other women may experience post-traumatic stress symptoms after birth, but don’t meet the clinical threshold for PTSD. Nonetheless they are still deeply affected by what happened to them.

It’s important to acknowledge that birth partners can also develop PTSD from witnessing their partner go through traumatic birth or fearing for the life of their baby. According to PTSD UK, as many as 5% of partners develop trauma symptoms after being present for their child’s birth.‍

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What can cause birth trauma?

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There are many reasons why women may develop birth trauma. Whilst this is not an exhaustive list, there are some key themes which can contribute to the development of birth trauma in women:
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• ‍Feeling fearful that you or your baby might die
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• Feeling powerless or out of control during childbirth. There may have been unexpected complications, medical interventions or poor communication from health professionals.
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• Feeling intense physical pain during or after childbirth or feeling pain from medical interventions and emergency procedures.
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• A lack of support or communication from the health professionals looking after you. Perhaps they did not explain what was happening and why. Perhaps they were unkind, neglectful or dismissive in their care towards you.
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• Women with a history of trauma, particularly related to sexual assault or previous traumatic births, may be more vulnerable to experiencing birth trauma.‍

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‍What are the effects of birth trauma?

Some women feel that having a baby “makes up” for any traumatic experiences because both they and their baby survived. Or they feel that once enough time has passed, they will forget what happened to them. But reminders of what happened to you are likely to be everywhere; seeing your baby, your c-section scar, visiting the hospital, or seeing other pregnant women. All of this can powerfully re-activate your birth trauma.

“A C-section brings so many mixed experiences. It can simultaneously hold so much hope because it enabled you and your baby to survive yet it also holds so much trauma because it is a physical reminder of the horror of what happened to you”

Birth trauma can have a negative impact on the relationships you have with others (e.g. feeling resentful, angry, mistrustful)and on the relationship with your baby. Some women feel an overwhelming sense of responsibility to protect their baby from harm and lack trust in other people’s abilities to care adequately for their baby. This may manifest as doing everything themselves and being critical towards their partner for “not doing things right”.

Some women describe a loss of confidence and low self-esteem whereas others describe feeling heightened levels of anxiety and low mood. According to PaNDAS, Postnatal depression is common after pregnancy and affects more than 1 in 10 women within a year of giving birth.‍

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Recovering from birth trauma

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It is possible to recover from what happened to you and the following may help depending on where you are on your journey to recovery:
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• Talking to other people such as friends, partners and wider family networks
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• Talking to other women who have experienced birth trauma as this can make you feel less alone. However do this with caution as some people find it triggering hearing about other people’s experiences, especially if the experience was very similar to your own.
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• The two main treatments for PTSD and for trauma symptoms that don’t meet the full criteria for a PTSD diagnosis is Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (TF-CBT) and Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR).‍

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‍EMDR Therapy in Hertford

‍Dr Maria Tucknott is an EMDR Europe Accredited Practitioner and offers therapy in Hertford for birth trauma. If this does not suit you, then she also offers online therapy in Hertfordshire and nationwide. If you would like to book an appointment with Dr Tucknott or have a free 15 minute consultation then contact me through my contact form today.

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References:

Birth Trauma Association: https://www.birthtraumaassociation.org/peer-support

PTSD at the Birth Is Common in Fathers https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/markwilliams/fathers-ptsd-birth_b_7475566.html