Survey findings show 79 per cent of women experienced birth trauma, with 53 per cent experiencing physical trauma and 71 per cent experiencing psychological or emotional trauma. According to recent research, one in three women in the UK find some element of their birth experience traumatic, with 4.5 per cent (approximately 30,000 women) developing postnatal post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after childbirth. Instead of being joyful and happy, the experience of giving birth has been highlighted as frightening.

Partners are affected by these experiences too. Birth trauma includes any difficult experience on your journey, from trying to conceive, pregnancy and beyond.

It is anything which left you feeling intensely afraid, out of control or helpless.

It’s important to remember other people cannot judge what you will or will not find traumatic or incredibly hard. You or your baby don’t have to be at risk of death or be facing a serious injury for the birth, or period around it, to find your birth experience traumatic or very difficult. Your feelings are valid and your experience matters.

Birth trauma can also mean you’re affected by things such as those below.

Reproductive trauma

This includes infertility diagnosis, pregnancy loss, reproductive injury, for example spinal cord injury (SCI), or fertility treatment, also called infertility trauma.

Hyperemesis gravidarum (HG)

This is severe nausea, vomiting, weight loss or dehydration during pregnancy. For many HG is a traumatic experience.

Breastfeeding trauma

Lots of people who want to breastfeed have to stop before they are ready, leaving them with negative emotions, including grief, anger, guilt, shame, frustration and often blame themselves.

Signs to look out for

You may feel a range of emotions including fear, overwhelm, frustration, sad, guilty, feeling ignored, or experiencing intrusive thoughts, flashbacks and/or nightmares. You might be reliving your birth experience all the time in your mind, avoiding hospitals or pregnant friends and struggling to sleep. You’re likely to feel switched on all the time and unsafe in the world.

Birth trauma does not always lead to PTSD. It’s also different from postnatal depression. Many relate to some, but not all of the PTSD symptoms, including:

• re-experiencing traumatic events
• using avoidance behaviours
• feeling a heightened sense of threat
• negative thoughts or feelings.

To be diagnosed with PTSD you would experience all these symptoms for more than one month. You may have some symptoms of trauma but not PTSD. In this case, you can still be heavily affected by your emotions. You may find trauma feels like a huge and heavy word, especially to describe something you’ve also been told is natural or seen as a joyful event. Quite often you might not realise you are experiencing birth trauma until months or years after the event or when you become pregnant again.

Please talk to your GP, health visitor or midwife if you are experiencing trauma symptoms related to becoming a parent. There is treatment and support is available for you.

Resources

• Make Birth Better: A group of experts who combine lived experience with professional knowledge of birth trauma. Their website includes free downloads and resources for parents.
• The Birth Trauma Association: a UK charity run by women with personal experience of birth trauma. It supports women and families affected by traumatic birth.
• The MASIC Foundation: Supports women who have experienced severe childbirth injuries, including obstetric anal sphincter injuries (OASI) and aims to improve care and outcomes.
• Kent WEPP: A wellbeing and exercise in pregnancy programme offering perinatal pelvic health resources.
• Making Miracles: A registered charity providing compassionate support for families affected by birth trauma and baby loss.
• NHS Talking Therapies in Kent and Medway: Free, confidential mental health support for people aged 17.5 and over who are registered with a GP. Support is available for stress, anxiety and depression, and you can self-refer.
• Kent and Medway Perinatal Mental Health Resource Bank: A collection of information and support to help parents through pregnancy and early parenthood.
• Thrive, Kent and Medway Mental Health NHS Trust: Offers psychological support for people who have had therapy for perinatal trauma or loss and still have symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.