Birth trauma is another term for post-traumatic stress disorder after childbirth. A traumatic birth can result from feeling out of control during birth, if things happen that you weren’t prepared for or if you and/or your baby’s health was impacted or threatened. Some women who have had birth trauma go on to have future births that are positive and healing whereas others choose not to have any further children. Recovery from birth trauma is an ongoing process and takes time.
Birth trauma symptoms
Symptoms of birth trauma can involve re-experiencing the birth through flashbacks or nightmares. These memories mean that you experience the same emotions you felt at that time and can make you very anxious and fearful.
Some women find that they cannot do, say, or experience things that remind them of the birth trauma. This might mean that they do not want to revisit the place the birth trauma occurred and try not to think about or talk about the birth.
Other symptoms of birth trauma involve being overly alert to danger, being irritable and overly anxious about things that could go wrong. Women who experience birth trauma may also have feelings of guilt and blame themselves. There might also be issues with remembering exactly what happened. Memory loss is common when trauma has occurred.
Birth trauma can co-occur with postnatal depression, but it is not the same thing and the two conditions require different approaches for recovery.
It is possible to get help if you have experienced birth trauma. For some women, a debriefing session will be enough. Others find that they respond better to talking therapy and some women find that medication can be an important part of their recovery.