PaperdaisySenior Contributor
Birth Trauma Awareness Week 17- 24th of July 2022
Bringing another human into the world is a huge, transformative event and it can be positive or plans can go awry, and it can be difficult and even traumatic. Birth trauma can be physical and/or psychological and of course these can impact one another. I think it's important to highlight that this can traumatise the birthing individual but also the people around them. I'm sharing these stories as they help normalise how things can deviate from the plan and how people can be left with trauma that impacts their parenting journey. (TW: Please don’t read these if you or your partner are about to go into labour).
If these are unsettling, please reach out to PANDA or Gidget Foundation.
You can read more about birth trauma awareness via The Australasian Birth Trauma Association, which has a strong peer focus.
I had a particularly ridged idea of how my first birth would go and put a lot of focus on the delivery. It wasn’t anything like I imagined and that was a bit hard to take at the time. The weeks that followed were difficult and it’s hard to say if the birth caused that or if it would have always been that way, but it probably didn’t help. The hypervigilance and lack of sleep that followed caused me a lot of mental health problems.
The second time I had a lot of anxiety in the lead up and things went far from planned, but the difference was that I didn’t put pressure on having a textbook delivery. I went in with the attitude that what will be will be, and it helped me go with the flow. Now I think about birth with so much positivity. It truly is incredible and can be very healing. That’s just a little bit about my experience and I’d be interested to hear from others if they feel safe to share. 💝
Please keep this a safe and respectful space. If this has brought up difficult emotions please reach out to lifeline, PANDA or Gidget Foundation.
