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Birth trauma is a growing problem — experiencing it myself revealed how few people understand it

The past few years have seen more attention being paid to maternal mental health. Many people are now aware of conditions such as postnatal depression, which affects one in seven mothers. But less is known about postnatal post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), also known as birth trauma – a severe mental health condition caused by the birth experience. It’s characterised by flashbacks, nightmares, depression and anxiety. Up to 45% of women find some aspect of giving birth traumatic. But approximately one in 25 women develop postnatal PTSD.

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  Understanding Birth Trauma: 4 Grounding Techniques to Support Your Healing Journey

You may already be placing the pieces together as to how this could be relevant to birthing scenarios. Giving birth is a physical trauma to the body. It is a beautiful, miraculous event that also involves intense wear and tear. To place this collectively into one word, I would describe it as intense.

 The trauma ward

Each year thousands of women suffer the nightmare of a traumatic birth. I was one of them. Trauma is an overused word these days. It has crept into political discourse; it’s sometimes pounced upon by those waging culture wars. For those who don’t like the word, we can call it something else – the impact on women is the same. In the US, 20 per cent of women have reported experiences of “mistreatment” in birth, the numbers being higher among ethnic minorities.

Articles of Interest

A Traumatic Birth Forever Changed My First Moments of Motherhood

Traumatic births can leave women feeling helpless, anxious, and dealing with PTSD-like symptoms. And they’re surprisingly common in the U.S.

After Nearly Dying in Childbirth, I Wanted to Understand: Why Didn’t I Speak Up?

But what plagues me most is why I stayed so uncharacteristically quiet through it all. Why, when I insisted the painkillers weren’t working and everyone was ignoring me, did I not once raise my voice? Why, after I was in surgery, was I so polite to the doctor who demanded I “prove” my pain by walking to the operating table on my own? Where was my voice—the “hysteria” I had used selectively and to my advantage in the past? Having spent my entire career as a women’s rights advocate, why didn’t I stand up for myself?

Analysis UK birth-trauma inquiry delivered gritty truths, but change will be hard

With many NHS maternity services struggling and a shortage of midwives, MPs’ plan for overhaul is ambitious.

Birth Trauma and Maternal Mental Health Fact Sheet

Maternal mental health (MMH) conditions are the MOST COMMON complication of pregnancy and birth, affecting 800,000 families each year in the U.S.

Birth Trauma: Stress Disorder Afflicts Moms

Amid the debate over how to effectively manage maternal mental-health disorders, a new type of postpartum illness is gaining attention: post-traumatic-stress disorder due to childbirth. PTSD is most commonly associated with combat veterans and victims of violent crime, but medical experts say it also can be brought on by a very painful or complicated labor and delivery in which a woman believes she or her baby might die. Symptoms can include anxiety, flashbacks and a numbness to daily life. Even as medical advances have resulted in many more lives saved during high-risk births, extreme medical interventions can leave a mother severely stressed -- especially if she feels powerless or mistreated by health providers.

Birth Trauma—Distress During Childbirth and Its Lasting Effects

Anxiety, hypervigilance, and panic in the days, weeks, or months following birth are just some of the symptoms of birth trauma.

Fact Sheet: Birth Trauma and Maternal Mental Health

This Fact Sheet identifies key facts about birth trauma and maternal mental health, factors contributing to birth trauma, impacts of birth trauma and racism, and the intersection of birth trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Giving Birth in Jail Can Traumatize Women for Decades

The practice of restraining, or shackling, pregnant or laboring women—particularly during childbirth and in the postpartum period—has been widely criticized for over a decade, especially after reports of women giving birth in solitary confinement or while handcuffed to prison beds. In response to these reports, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists issued a specific set of medical guidelines for correctional facilities, calling the practice of restraint “demeaning” and unnecessary, as no incarcerated women have been reported to have attempted escape during childbirth. Apparently, some jails aren’t exactly adhering.

Having a NICU Baby Is Its Own Trauma

By the time a baby makes it to the neonatal intensive care unit, the mother has likely already been through some trauma. But a stay in the NICU can be a trauma all its own for her—it's time we started talking about it.

Psychological birth trauma: A concept analysis

Childbirth, a major event in a woman’s life, is of a profound and complex nature (Shorey and Wong, 2022). Not only does it involve huge physical changes, but it is also accompanied by significant psychological fluctuations (Fenech and Thomson, 2015; Shorey and Wong, 2022). Negative birth experiences can even cause terrible psychological trauma to women

The effect of childbirth no-one talks about

Giving birth can be one of the most painful experiences in a woman’s life, yet the long-term effects that trauma can have on millions of new mothers are still largely ignored.

Traumatic Childbirth and Its Aftermath: Is There Anything Positive?

Traumatic childbirth is an international public health problem.

‘I was left lying on the ground in pain’: shocking stories from UK birth trauma inquiry

Women suffering ‘harrowing’ births as hospitals hide failures, says MPs’ report.

Resources

MASIC Foundation

We are advocates for women and aim to change the lives of those injured during childbirth. The MASIC Foundation is the only multi-disciplinary UK charity to support women who have suffered severe injuries during childbirth known as OASI (Obstetric Anal Sphincter Injuries).

Birth Trauma Association

Founded and run by women who have experienced birth trauma, we are the only charity in the UK solely dedicated to supporting women and families who have experienced traumatic birth.

Australasian Birth Trauma Association

We are the peak charity in Australia dedicated to supporting women, people, fathers, partners, and families after birth-related trauma. We listen to the voice of the consumer and respond to the unmet needs of birthing families.

Mind

Birth trauma happens when we go through a frightening, stressful or distressing event which is related to giving birth. It can develop into postnatal post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which is a type of anxiety disorder.