Do you have birthing trauma symptoms?
There are so many variations to the birthing experience, and can be one of the strongest hallmarks of a woman’s life. Polarities exist from empowering to humiliating. Add birth complications and/or long separation periods from your baby, and you may feel as if it was one of the most frightening and painful experiences of your life. Often strong emotional reactions do not come until you are settled back at home with your new baby, and their may be no one there to process and understand the full impact of what has happened to you.
Common Symptoms of Birthing Trauma/ Post Natal PTSD include:
Re-experiencing the trauma through images, dreams, and flashbacks or distressing memories about the event
Numbed emotions
Problems bonding with the baby
Problems breastfeeding
Psychological distress
Depressive or irritable, angry mood swings
Altered sense of reality
Inability to remember important aspects of the event
Attempting to avoid symptoms and reminders of the event
Problems with concentration
Sleep disturbance and/or hyper-vigilance
Feelings of inadequacy
Fear of becoming pregnant again
Risk factors for Post-Natal PTSD may include:
Lengthy labour or short and very painful labour
Induction
Poor pain relief
Feelings of loss of control
High levels of medical intervention
Traumatic or emergency deliveries, e.g. emergency caesarean section
Impersonal treatment or problems with the staff attitudes
Not being listened to
Lack of information or explanation
Lack of privacy and dignity
Fear for baby’s safety
Stillbirth
Birth of a damaged baby (a disability resulting from birth trauma)
Baby’s stay in SCBU/NICU
Poor postnatal care
Previous trauma (for example, in childhood, with a previous birth or domestic violence)
