Here are 3 things you and your partner need to know after a traumatic birth experience: It’s not your fault. You did nothing wrong. You did not deserve the things that happened. As a birthing woman bringing a new person into the world you were strong yet vulnerable and needed...
It’s a tricky question because we are so inclined to think that it is the circumstance of a situation that makes it traumatic. And this is often true, a car crash is traumatic, being attacked is traumatic, a warzone is traumatic. And we often can’t do anything about the situation...
When I originally met Sarah* she had come to see me for treatment for anxiety. I had no idea when she booked the appointment that she was a new mum and had a baby just 5 months beforehand, she didn’t mention this in her original email. She had said she...
It is rare that I see mums or dads within the 1st year of their childs life after a traumatic birth. There is just too much going on, often they would rather forget all about it, move on into the demands of looking after a newborn, keep afloat, get through...
I had always wondered how Lauren's birth had gone. I remembered our last hypnobirthing session in front of a roaring fire at her house. When I finally heard from her and read her traumatic birth story it brought me to tears. Working with Lauren inspired me to train other practitioners...
There are fewer things I enjoy about my job more than working with parents to lift the symptoms that can plague them after a traumatic birth. Except perhaps for teaching these skills to other birth workers because I know that for every one mum or dad that I see the...
After a difficult or traumatic birth experience women are often advised to have a birth debrief (sometimes this is offered as a listening or reflections service) with a Supervisor of Midwives (or SOM for short) or a Consultant Midwife at the hospital where they gave birth. Sometimes doulas and antenatal...
Anxiety can really be a cruel master of the mind. It can makes us feel afraid when there is no present danger, it can tell us that there is no point in feeling optimistic, that we are better off planning for the worst case scenario, it can close down roads...
Before I started my birth doula journey nearly 2 years ago now, I was a wide eyed, idealistic, hypnobirthing teacher who had only experienced her own very peaceful, joyful home births. I was used to teaching parents that birth could be a calm and relaxed event. And that truly is...
Recovering physically and mentally after a traumatic birth presents a unique set of challenges for parents. For a start there is a baby to look after who is completely dependent 24 hours a day. This is often accompanied with a lack of opportunity for rest or sleep and perhaps the...