Birth Trauma
Justine contacted me three weeks after the birth of her daughter. She was still feeling very raw emotionally and was concerned that these feelings were affecting her ability to bond with her baby. Justine decided to try therapy on the recommendation of a friend I had helped with similar symptoms.
At Justine's first session I asked her to describe the most dominant emotions she felt when reflecting on her birth experience. She described feeling powerless and out of control. The first stage of Justine's labour had been very positive and she recalled feeling proud of coping with her contractions. Unfortunately, the second stage was where Justine ran into difficulties.
Despite remaining calm during the first stage, the overwhelming feelings in the second stage sent Justine into a state of panic. Like many women, she had not anticipated the overwhelming uterine contractions in the birthing phase of labour and her calm, relaxed state flipped into overwhelm as her body ‘took over’. Justine’s baby birthed a little too quickly and regrettably this resulted in a third degree tear. So these are the emotions we started clearing to begin with - shock, trauma and an overwhelming lack of control. We also cleared feelings of intimidation as Justine felt powerless as her body went into what she described as overdrive.
After birthing her baby, Justine recalled a sense of relief that it was all over and had little memory of delivering the placenta. Her next vivid memory was of the midwife talking outside her labour room about calling someone to assess a tear. Justine described feeling physically sick with panic when it dawned on her that this conversation was about her. So next we cleared feelings of panic and feeling trapped and intimidated when a male doctor arrived with her midwife to examine the area requiring suturing. Justine was acutely embarrassed at this point and almost angry and despairing as her husband talked at length with the midwife and doctor whilst being oblivious to her feelings.
Later in the same session Justine worked through the memory of being taken to theatre for suturing. This was the most overwhelming point in Justine’s recall of her birth experience and evidently responsible for the larger part of her emotional trauma. Justine’s terror of needles combined with the thought of being sutured whilst awake in a theatre environment was too overwhelming. Despite the reassurances from staff, Justine described feeling petrified and totally out of control. This was also the memory which Justine had nightmares over. Clearing the emotions associated with this memory resulted in a significant shift and Justine left the session feeling emotionally lighter and in need of a good sleep. She agreed to take it easy over the next week and monitor her feelings in a journal.
At the start of Justine’s second session a week later, she was much brighter, more energised and looked a lot less burdened. She had noticed a considerable improvement in her sleep and concentration levels and her husband had commented on how relaxed and content she had been following her session. When I asked Justine how she felt about the birth since the session, she said it felt much more distant and that she had not been troubled by any further nightmares.
So, the second session focused on Justine’s feelings after arriving home from hospital. During her initial consultation, Justine described feelings of overwhelm, helplessness and obsessive thoughts as well as many other classic symptoms of birth trauma however, since the first session these had reduced significantly but we both knew there was still work to do on some buried emotions which were affecting her relationship with her daughter.
Justine admitted to feeling anger and resentment when she thought about the trauma her body had been through to birth her daughter and found these emotions confusing and upsetting. As we dissolved these emotions in therapy the anger and resentment was quickly replaced by feelings of guilt and shame. However, once these dissipated Justine felt a huge amount of relief. The remainder of the session was used to address issues of body confidence.
Justine was remarkably focused over the course of two extended sessions and opted for a two month telephone support programme following therapy. This gave her the reassurance of fortnightly support to monitor her progress and the benefits of brief therapy to dissolve any minor emotional issues along the way.
Justine is now working with her GP to reduce her medication and hopes to be free from her anti-depressants in the next few months. She has taken things steadily, bonding well with her daughter and not adverse to the idea of having a second child at some point in the future.
When the shock and trauma of a difficult birth are cleared within a few weeks of the birth, a mother can close the chapter on her birth, taking the positive memories from the experience and avoid the persistent symptoms of birth trauma recognised now as Postnatal PTSD. However, no matter how long you have been suffering with the emotional trauma of a difficult birth, you can always get help to dissolve those upsetting and debilitating emotions.
If you would like to find out how I can help you to clear the symptoms of birth trauma, visit the Pure Therapy Programme and for follow-on support after therapy, take a look at the Essential Support Programme. Alternatively, use the form below to drop me a line or call and speak with me directly on 01276 21386.
Conception & Birth Services
Pure Therapy Programme Brief therapy to dissolve your fears, phobias, anxieties and any emotional trauma. This programme focuses on calming your mind, restoring your confidence and self-esteem, giving you back a sense of control in your life as well as the clarity to make important decisions.
Essential Support Programme Regular, short check-in sessions by phone to keep you calm, relaxed, optimistic and positively focused between significant milestones from conception to birth. The therapeutic toolkit enables sabotaging emotional wobbles to be dissolved in an instant.
HypnoBirthing® Classes The ultimate in birth preparation classes to teach both you and your partner how to use hypnotic relaxation skills, special breathing techniques and endorphin releasing massage to manage the physical demands of labour and feel calm, relaxed and confident during the birth.
Parent Coaching Programme No baby arrives with a manual and few parents have endless hours to devour a ‘how to’ book. Parent coaching is a supportive route to helping you create your own practical solutions to whatever parenting challenges you are facing, in time sensitive short sessions.