Birth trauma is not just about what happened during labour and the birth. It can also refer to how you, as the mother, are left feeling afterwards.
At the time of birth you might have felt isolated, anxious, helpless, unheard and most importantly ‘lack of control’ over the situation. The more frightened and helpless you feel, more likely you get traumatised. This can happen during your child birth or aftermath.
There are many factors that can contribute to birth trauma. These include:
1. Childbirth didn’t happen as you expected
2. Difficult labour that was long and painful
3. Labour complications
4. Interventions during labour (Emergency C-section, Episiotomy)
5. Baby suffering birth injury
6. Baby needing medical attention after birth (NICU stay
7. Losing baby ( Stillbirth or neonatal death)
8. Previous traumatic experiences
If you think you could be experiencing emotional trauma, it’s very important to seek help as early as possible which benefits both you and your family.
Some psychological symptoms, including the ‘baby blues’ are very common around the time of birth. But if you still feel distressed 2 or more weeks after the birth, you could have Postpartum depression (PPD).
GET HELP!!!!