The birth of a baby is often an exciting and positive experience for parents. Sometimes, however, the birth may be experienced as traumatic. The trauma may be physical (when injuries such as tears or muscle damage occur) or psychological (when it is stressful, frightening or distressing). While feelings of distress may lessen with time, sometimes additional help is needed to recover.
Take our free and anonymous Birth Trauma self-check and download the Birth Trauma Fact Sheet
We don’t really know how many parents experience psychological birth trauma. What we do know is that physical birth injuries are common and can affect mental health.
It is estimated that as many as one in three people experience a traumatic birth.
You are more likely to experience psychological birth trauma if:
It is not unusual for it to take time to recover from psychological birth trauma. Common signs and symptoms include:
If you are still experiencing these symptoms 3 months after the birth, it is time to seek help. This may be a sign of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Treatment for psychological birth trauma may include talking therapies or medication.
Talking therapies can be very helpful in treating mental health symptoms. They can help you recognise and change the negative thinking and feelings that depression brings. They can also give you useful tools to stop your symptoms coming back.
Talking therapies that are helpful in treating psychological birth trauma include:
Treatments offered over a single session that focus on 're-living’ the trauma are unlikely to be helpful and could cause further distress.
Depending on your symptoms, you may be offered antidepressants. A combination of talking therapies and medicine is better than either alone.
Recovering from a traumatic birth can take time, but there are a range of things that may help.
If your hopes and plans for the birth didn't eventuate, this is no reflection on you as a person or as a parent. Try to be proud of yourself for getting through the experience. It is completely natural to experience distress after such an event and important to accept and acknowledge that you're likely to need support.
If possible, try to access help with the baby once you return home. Here partners, extended family and/or friends can play a vital role in assisting with everyday tasks which may be quite difficult – particularly if you have experienced any physical trauma or are recovering from a caesarian section.
Seek support particularly from people around you who are empathetic and able to care for and nurture you.
You may find that you feel quite detached from your baby or have negative feelings towards them. Try to view these feelings within the context of what has happened. Take the pressure off yourself and give yourself time. Bonding isn't always instant.
If you find yourself feeling ongoing distress, when you are ready and able, talk to someone you trust about your experience. You don't have to wait and hope that the feelings will go away on their own.
Articulating what has happened, can:
- Give you more insight into why and how things unfolded
- Give you the opportunity to express yourself and have your experience heard and acknowledged
- Bring you a sense of relief
- Reduce the likelihood of reliving the experience in your mind
- Reduce the likelihood that you continue to carry unpleasant feelings with you.
You may decide to talk to your partner, family member or a friend. Alternatively, you may choose to seek professional support.
Birth trauma can impact your relationship, particularly if your partner has been traumatised as well. Experiencing trauma can, for example, create confusion, distance and distress between a couple. Relationship counselling can help support each partner to understand and learn how to respond to the other in a caring and supportive way.
This can give you insight into what interventions were used and why. It can help you to ‘fill in the blanks’, and feel a sense of relief and closure. You can do this for example by talking to, or going through your notes with your midwife or obstetrician.
If you would rather look at your notes on your own or with another health professional, the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner can help you work out how to go about making a request.
If you feel that your trauma was caused by inadequate care by your healthcare professionals, making a formal complaint can provide you with some sense of being heard and legitimising your experience. You can also consider reporting your complaint to the professional body the health professional is registered with.
Give yourself time and grace. Try to remember that any feelings of guilt, grief or difficulties connecting with your baby are understandable given what you've been through. Take each day at a time.
It is common for parents to feel they won't be able to have any other children after a traumatic birth. Given what you've been through, this is understandable. Take your time with your recovery and try not to put pressure on yourself. You don't have to make those decisions now or without support.
Fortunately most women and men are able to recover from birth trauma. This is more likely when they have social support (especially from their partner) and have reduced other stressors to enable them the time and space to recover.
For others however, the trauma experience can linger and may lead you or your partner to experience a condition called post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
If you are still experiencing symptoms two weeks after the birth, it is a good idea to talk to your maternal and child health nurse or your GP to see how you are going and whether treatment would be helpful. This may include counselling, or other treatments if your symptoms are more severe.
You can also find a health professional skilled in treating birth trauma on the COPE directory.
Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following birth can develop if you have personally experienced or witnessed a traumatic birth event.
This questionnaire asks about your experience during the birth of your most recent baby.
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