Birth can be beautiful for some women. And for some women, difficult deliveries bring fear, pain, grief, isolation, anger, and shame for months or even years.
You are Not Alone.
Other women have felt traumatized, deeply disappointed, or even violated by their birth experiences.
Birth trauma is very real.
Birth trauma comes in many forms: a cesarean birth, a vaginal birth, a medically-complicated birth, or a very straightforward birth. Birth trauma can happen to a mother who has a healthy baby, a sick baby, or sadly, a mother whose baby died. Some women have moved past childhood abuse, only to have symptoms appear again following childbirth. Some women feel that they were manipulated into care choices that they now regret. Some women feel mistreated by their providers. Some women have felt violated in someway during their births.
Carly Sullens has been trained by Pam England, midwife and author of BIRTHING FROM WITHIN®. Pam England has explored the concept of Birth being a Hero's Journey. Our journey of labor and birth began way back when girls heard their first birth stories. Messages of birth and the related have been reinforced through out a girls life by traumatic stories from TV, neighbors and sometimes even strangers. A women who has an experience of a traumatic birth builds her story on these past integrated concepts sometimes without even knowing.
A common theme in birth trauma is a feeling of powerlessness. "If only I.... (was stronger, knew more about, could of choose differently, went with my gut feelings, ....)" Circumstances in labor and life are not solely based on how one person responds or not. Becoming aware of how an integrative network of people, feelings, past and present plays a role in healing birth trauma is Powerful.
Telling of your birth story can be powerfully healing and sometimes reinforcing the trauma itself. Learning how to tell your story with a listener that holds your story as sacred, and heard deeply, may support the healing that is being seeked.
"A Labyrinth is an ancient symbol that is a perfect symbol for the unknown twists and turns of labor. One way or another, every mother makes it to the Center, where the child is born, but then she must find her way out of the LabOrinth postpartum. However, some mothers get "stuck in their LabOrinth," going round and round trying to make sense of what happened in labor." ~ Pam England
There are all kinds of symptoms you may experience postpartum. These include:
•
Sadness
•Mood swings
•Difficulty concentrating
•Irritation or anger
•Lack of interest in things you used to enjoy
•Sleep and appetite changes
•Panic attacks
•Excessive worry about your baby
•Disturbing thoughts about harming
yourself or your baby
•Mania
•Racing thoughts
•Panic attacks
•Headaches and stomach problems
•Guilt
•Feeling like you should never have become a mother or that you won’t be able to do it
•Delusions or hallucinations
Symptoms can appear anytime after giving birth. For some it is months or years. Some are pregnant again. Another pregnancy often brings feelings of dread as to whether it is all going to happen again and emotions they hoped they had laid to rest become threatening.
Baby blues, a normal adjustment period after birth, normally lasts 2-3 weeks postpartum.
If you have some of the symptoms listed above, they have stayed the same or gotten worse, and you’re 5 to 6 weeks postpartum, you are no longer experience baby blues and may need additional support.
You didn’t do anything to cause this.
The sooner you get treatment the better.
Many recent studies show that both the physical and emotion health of women who go untreated, and their children, are negatively impacted over the long term.
Carly has witnessed countless successes with women who were prone to postpartum depression, baby blues, birth trauma, struggling with parenting and everyday stress. The unique combination of Birthing From Within Training and Art Therapy, has provided Carly with an array of accessible tools that offer creative ways to support, educate, and promote emotional and physical wellness throughout the amazing and often overwhelming experience of nurturing a growing family.
