Birth Trauma and Postnatal Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Disclaimer:
This website provides only support and information, it does not give medical advice. Any support given should
not replace any advice given by your own medical professional. Please do not rely on this website to respond to your post immediately.
In
an emergency always call 999 or go to you nearest Accident & Emergency department.
For non-emergency but still serious cases
please call your GP or NHS Direct on 0845 4647.
It is believed that as many as 10,000 women per year in the UK suffer a traumatic birth - of course, it is not simple to quantify
as many women do not feel able to talk about their experience or feel that they are a failure due to the feelings that their birth
experience elicits.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is the term for a set of normal reactions to a traumatic, scary or
bad experience that are still occuring after four weeks of the traumatic event. Previously referred to as 'shell shock' it is more
commonly associated with soldiers who witness horrific situations at war, but ow, we can also refer to it in connection to a
traumatic birth.
Symptoms
- Persistent flashbacks or nightmares as the mind attempts to process and makes sense of the
traumatic event.
- Palpitations, anxiety and panic are common physical and psychological responses to situations that remind
sufferer of their traumatic birth - for example watching a birth on television or even a piece of music or smell that reminds them
of the birth.- Have a close family history of either of the above.
- A sufferer might want to avoid anything to do with
birth, including talkin about it OR they might find that they want to talk about it as much as possible.
- A mother that suffered
a traumatic birth may find it difficult to bond with their baby.
- They may feel resentful towards their partner or believe that
their partner did not do enough to support them during labour.
- Insomnia can be a problem, especially if their are nightmares
affecting sleep.
- Avoidance of routine GP appointments - smears etc
- Hyper vigilance or jumpiness, inability
to concentrate, depression.
Factors that increase the likelihood of developing Postnatal PTSD/birth trauma include:
- A feeling
of loss of control or dignity during birth.
- A situation where the mother feared for her life or that of her baby.
- Staff attitudes
towards the labouring/postnatal mother and her partner.
- A history of sexual or physical abuse.
- Emergency situations e.g. Caesarean
section.
- Lack of clear information/ not being asked to consent to procedures
- Not being able to see or hear the baby soon after birth
- perhaps due to baby needing time in special care.
- Inadequate pain relief.
Treatment
The first line of treatment following a traumatic birth should be the opportunity for mum (and birth partner if possible)
to 'debrief' from their trauma. This must be offered within 24 hours of the birth (unless there is a physical reason why this is impossible).
In
order for the mind to heal it is also important that mum is supported while she recovers physically from the birth. Specialist therapy
(which is the usual recommended treatment of PTSD0 should be deferred until this point - usually a few weeks.
Medication
Antidepressant
medication may be prescribed but this is not always recommended unless you are suffering quite badly with depressive symptoms. Some
specialists feel that antidepressants don't allow the trauma to be processed as they can have a numbing effect and in this case specialist
therapies are preferred
Specialist Therapy
Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) and Cognitive Behavioural
Therapy (CBT) are the therapies recommended by the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) for PTSD.
Reading your Notes/
Meeting with Healthcare Professionals from your birth
Sometimes reading through your medical notes can help to put events into
a time order and answer any questions that might be affecting you with regard to your birth experience. This is best done with not
only a health care professional to interpret abbreviations and terminology but also someone who can offer you support too as it can
stir up a lot of emotions and have quite an effect on you.
You can apply for a copy of your notes or ask a member of staff to
read through the originals with you – although thus may entail a visit to hospital and that can be distressing in itself.
Get
plenty of rest, like any illness you need to rest well in order to recover.
Don’t be scared to ask for help – birth trauma is
not an indicator on how good you are as a mother, it is an illness so please speak to your health visitor, GP, partner, friends