How Birth Trauma and PTSD affect Mothers during the Second Pregnancy

Birth trauma is the event that occurs that makes the pregnancy/birth difficult.  This could be anything from a sudden drop in blood pressure for you or your baby, excessive bleeding, to a very long and difficult labor, or really any birthing complications. This trauma can be physical or mental and can often lead to symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder following the birth because of the stress and experience.  This is not uncommon, and as the time passes, those feelings may begin to fade.  However, maybe you’re thinking about having a second or you’re already pregnant with your second – and those feelings have come back with a vengeance! This is not uncommon either, and it can be incredibly crippling and debilitating to many expecting mothers. It can be extremely beneficial to consider birth trauma therapy not only following the traumatic birth to explore some of your feelings, but it may be beneficial to seek counseling as you are thinking about a second or when you become pregnant with your second to address the previous PTSD from birth experience so that you can mentally prepare yourself for the upcoming birth.

How Previous Birth Trauma can Impact Planning a Second Pregnancy…

Your initial birth experience did not go as planned – in fact, it was quite traumatic and left you with PTSD from birth experience. You are not alone, and you are understandably scared! Seeking counseling from a therapist specializing in birth trauma therapy can be helpful because that individual can give you and your partner the tools to not only address the negative feelings, but also to prepare and plan for the next pregnancy! You may be worried that the birth trauma you experienced the first time will happen again – but it is important to work with your therapist and/or partner to address those fears and plan for some of the scary things that can happen, so you can go into your second birth calmly. You may also want to talk to your OBGYN before getting pregnant a second time or soon into your second pregnancy so that you can address any medical concerns you have and better prepare physically, as well as, mentally for the birth of your second.  The key is to address your concerns and fears with whomever can help, so that you can be as calm as possible!

What Can Help with Birth Trauma: Doing Things for You…

Another aspect of maintaining calm is finding calming activities that make you feel good and doing them often!  Many women enjoy pregnancy yoga because it is a way for them to engage in mindfulness, which centers and focuses the body and mind! This can be an excellent way for you to learn to reconnect with your body and feel “whole” again.  Some women enjoy painting, meditation, walking, etc.  The idea is to find something that makes you feel good, feel calm, and feel whole – and allowing yourself to engage in those activities because they will be good for the body and the mind! Experiencing a birth trauma or PTSD from birth experience can take a toll on you mentally and physically – the point of finding an activity like this is to bring you back to your mind/body connection and make you feel empowered in your own body, so you feel more mentally and physically prepared to take on a second pregnancy and birth.

What Can Help with Birth Trauma: Be Open About Your Experience…

You are not alone in this – and you are not the only one to ever experience a traumatic birth.  You are not the only one to seek counseling from a therapist specializing in birth trauma therapy or birth PTSD counseling. You just aren’t, I promise. So, join a birth trauma support group, talking to your friends and family about your experience – allow others to help and support you! Sometimes, when traumatic things happen, we tend to want to keep them inside to ourselves.  However, oftentimes this can give the trauma more power over us.  When we choose to accept what happened and be open with others about our difficult experiences, we are taking the power away from the experience and are allowing others to support us.  This can be extremely freeing, and you’d be surprised at how many people have experienced something similar and/or want to help you through this difficult time.  Whether you decide to talk to a support group, your family, your partner, a professional – or all of the above – just open up to someone!

How We Can Help… We Offer Birth Trauma Therapy, Birth PTSD counseling and help for Postpartum Depression in Miami, fl

We have a team of dedicated, compassionate, and caring therapists trained and specialized in working with individual who have are experiencing PTSD from birth experience. If you have experienced birth trauma in Miami or birth trauma in Florida, we would love to help! We are proud to offer birth trauma therapy and birth PTSD counseling at our practice so that we can help you process feelings from your difficult pregnancy or help you prepare for your second pregnancy/birth. We love what we do, and we are passionate about what we do – so, if you are looking for therapy for moms in Miami, FL or therapy in Miami in general, we welcome you to our practice!