One in three women in the UK – according to the most recent research – find some element of their birth experience traumatic, with 4.5 per cent of mothers developing postnatal post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after childbirth. Instead of being joyful and happy, the experience of giving birth has been 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 really 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 (in)fertility 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 blaming themselves.

Signs to look out for

Birth trauma has a big range of emotions. From feeling incredibly scared, overwhelmed, frustrated, ignored, sad, guilty, having 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 feel you may be experiencing trauma symptoms related to becoming a parent – treatment and support is available for you.

Resources

• www.makebirthbetter.org
• www.birthtraumaassociation.org.uk

Credit: Make Birth Better – an organisation supporting those affected by birth trauma.