Every expectant mother approaches childbirth with very individual expectations. Some view it with excitement, seeing it as a true rite of passage to motherhood. For others, the prospect of giving birth can feel like a frightening trip into the unknown.
Then there is life beyond the birth, when no amount of reading or well intended anecdotal advice fully prepares parents for the shock of juggling life with a newborn or feeling fully competent at meeting the needs of one so dependant.
The leap from carefree living to the joys and constraints of life with an infant takes some adjustment. Even adding a new member to an existing family unit presents its fair share of challenges and alters the status quo. So, when a mother’s experience of childbirth is traumatic instead of joyful, when life with a newborn doesn’t run as smoothly as the baby book suggests, parents can be left with raw emotions and upsetting memories, triggering intense feelings of anxiety and inadequacy to take root.
Postnatal issues such as birth trauma, PTSD and depression have at the heart of them many raw unprocessed emotions which leave sufferers feeling trapped and unable to cope, often long after the physical scars of childbirth have faded. Here, therapy can help to access and clear these emotions and restore feelings of calm, confidence and self-belief.
To read more about how you can overcome birth trauma and PTSD click here.
To explore how therapy can help with postnatal depression click here.
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