Psychological Support for Birth Trauma
“Why might it be valuable to talk through my birth?”
Approximately one in three women experience birth trauma.
This can mean that your experience of birth was frightening, confusing or distressing; or left you feeling powerless, alone or disempowered.
A difficult birth experience can directly impact a mother’s emotional wellbeing, postnatal mental health and physical recovery. Women often tell us that their partners and relationships are also affected.
It can feel daunting to revisit a traumatic birth experience, but the path to healing lies in processing the experience. When supported to talk through the distressing aspects of your experience, you can find acknowledgment, resolution and peace.
For many new mothers, taking this step to process their birth trauma effectively helps the adjustment to motherhood. It allows a deeper enjoyment of the postnatal period and strengthens the mother-baby bond.
As a trauma-informed psychologist, I offer a range of therapeutic options for birth trauma support including Trauma-Focused CBT and Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR).
Psychological support for birth trauma can help you:
Understand why you feel the way you do
Make sense of what happened
Reconnect to your own resilience
Strengthen your bond with your baby
Reduce your fears about giving birth again
What does birth trauma recovery involve?
As an experienced Clinical Psychologist, with particular expertise in postnatal mental health and trauma-informed therapy, I can offer you a safe and confidential space to effectively process your birth. Individual therapy is an opportunity to explore, understand and heal from the emotional impact of your birth.
Together, we will safely revisit your experience with a particular focus on the feelings you had at the time, as well as the thoughts and emotions that arise as you share your story with me. We allow enough time to take it slow and connect back to your courage, strength and resilience.
Have questions?
If you are interested in finding out more about therapy following a traumatic birth experience , please do get in touch. I am happy to answer any questions you have about this approach and help you decide if this is the right path for you.
Media
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Mum admits her first birth was traumatic - stats show she's not alone
One in three Australian women report their birth experience as traumatic. Dr Rosanna Pajak told Insight how a woman feels during, and immediately after childbirth can have lasting effects on parenthood.
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"I felt unsafe around my baby": We need to talk about the reality of birth trauma.
Speaking to Mamamia, Dr Rosanna Pajak explained that psychological birth trauma can occur with or without physical birth complications; it's about the individual's experience of that birth.
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Giving Birth Better: SBS Insight
One third of Australian women who give birth report their experience as traumatic, whether through physical injury or psychological effects. But many women suffer in silence. This episode of Insight explores the impacts of birth trauma and what can be done to ensure better outcomes for women and their families.
Introducing ‘The Birth Healing Collective’
I founded ‘The Birth Healing Collective’ as a way to bring clinically-informed, evidence-based information to the broader community. Please come and take a look!
The collective aims to bring women a sense of community, removing the isolation that many women describe after a traumatic birth experience. It’s free to sign up as a member, learn more about the various impacts a difficult birth can have and tips for moving forward.
The Birth Healing Collective will also offer online courses to support women to move forward from difficult or traumatic birth experiences. To find out more, visit www.thebirthhealingcollective.com.
The Birth Healing Collective is also on Instagram as @birth_healing_collective
Resources
How to Heal a Bad Birth (by Melissa Brujin and Debbie Gould)
A straightforward guide for women who have experienced a difficult, disappointing or traumatic birth, and want to gain understanding and clarity about ‘what happened’ and why they feel so bad…and move on.
Give Birth Like a Feminist (by Milli Hill)
Milli Hill encourages women everywhere to stand and deliver, insisting that birth is no longer left off the list in discussions about female power, control and agency. From the importance of birth plans to your human rights in childbirth and including birth stories from women across the world, this call-to-arms will help you find your voice, take an active role in your choices and change the way you think about childbirth.
The Australasian Birth Trauma Association
A peer-led community dedicated to helping Australian and New Zealanders prevent and heal from physical and psychological birth-related trauma. This organisation offers a wide range of resources as well as peer-support and mentoring.
“Words are, of course, the most powerful medicine used by mankind.”