I have always encouraged mums and dads at the end of their hypnobirthing antenatal course with me to keep in touch with their birth stories and to let me know how it goes. And I often did hear back from mums and dads who had fabulous stories that they shared with me.

But there was always the odd one that I didn’t hear from and then I would wonder …’what happened to that lady…’ It never occurred to me to pick up the phone or email to ask them directly if they were ok, if it went well. That would have been intrusive I would have told myself. You can’t go stalking mums for their birth stories just for your own satisfaction I said to myself. Really though the apprehension was probably more fuelled by the dread of hearing that their birth went terribly, that they were upset and struggling to come to terms with it. Because then of course I would have felt responsible, I was the one that told them it was going to be great, the best day of their lives. So I carried on wondering about the ones I never heard from.

Then one day I got an email from a mum who I had taught over a year ago. I remember all the mums and dads that I meet but I particularly wondered about this mum because I knew she had some worries during pregnancy and we had seen each other for an additional fear release session. As I devoured her birth story there was a huge smile across my face as she told how she labored amazingly well and enjoyed every minute of it. But then it changed, there was a change of staff and things rapidly spiraled out of control. She ended up in theatre with an assisted delivery but was injured by the spinal block and by the procedure. The months that followed were very dark, as she travelled back and forth from hospital for more corrective procedures, struggled to cope with the physical recovery and meet the demands of a newborn baby. Her marriage had faltered. I could tell by her account that she was still plagued by the trauma of that day as well as struggling to look after her baby. Although she was now physically recovered it was like she was reliving her birth and those first few months over and over, every single day.

We agreed to meet as I told her about a treatment that I use in my general hypnotherapy practice to help people move on from traumatic experiences. She was keen to try and with two sessions she felt that the feelings that had dogged her for over 6 months had been lifted. She was able to put the experience behind her and finally start enjoying her baby and family life.

After this experience I now always offer mums a reunion date and I always make it clear that I am there for them beyond that last antenatal session should they want or need additional support, a friendly ear or just someone to hold their baby whilst they have a cup of tea.

I offer treatment to mums and dads who are suffering with PTSD symptoms but also now also train other practitioners in the technique too so they are able to offer help when it is required.

If you would like to know more about the treatment I use to lift the symptoms of PTSD after a traumatic birth please get in touch alex@heathhypnobirthing.com

Author: admin

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