10 Tips for Preventing Birth Trauma
In the United States, over 1/3 of people who have given birth describe their experience as traumatic. And 10% will go on to be diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) - a serious and long-term mental health condition. Experiencing birth trauma is never your fault. And while many of the causes of birth trauma are outside of our control, we’re offering 10 things you can do to help lower your risk.
Take a childbirth education class. Taking a birthing class is one of the most effective ways to reduce your risk of experiencing birth trauma. Because trauma can arise from a mismatch between our expectations of birth and the reality of it, taking a class can help you to prepare for the birth you’d like to have, while also preparing you for any unexpected twists your birth journey might take.
Build a stellar support team. Consider who you want by your side during one of the most powerful and vulnerable experiences of your life. Your spouse, partner, sister, friend, mom, etc. who you feel confident will provide the support you need and can help advocate for you in labor.
Hire a doula. Building a relationship with a trained professional who is experienced at supporting people through labor and birth can make a huge difference in your (and your partner’s!) experience. Choose a doula with whom you feel a sense of trust and connection, and whose style aligns with the kind of support you most envision yourself needing.
Make informed decisions. Some decisions might come easily to you, like what you want (or don’t want) to eat or what positions feels good to be in. Others require external information and come with risks and benefits that need to be weighed before making a decision. Whatever your choice, research shows that people experience lower rates of trauma when they get to make fully-informed decisions.
Feel heard and understood by your care provider. A good way to tell whether you’ll feel heard and understood by your care provider during labor is to ask yourself if you’re feeling heard and understood now, during your prenatal care. If you find that you aren’t, or if your answer to that changes at any point in your pregnancy or even during your birth, it is never too late to request a different provider.
Prepare your body and mind for birth. Good self-care practices always go a long way, and that’s especially true during pregnancy. Developing a gentle exercise routine, getting body work like massage and/or acupuncture (if you have access to them), eating well, staying hydrated, developing a mindfulness practice, and seeing a mental health therapist are all things that can help support your birth and recovery experience.
Get enough sleep. Our culture in general doesn’t place a high value on rest, and neither does the shrinking space for your bladder as your pregnancy progresses! Despite these challenges, we urge you to give yourself as much sleep as possible and go into labor well-rested. Going to bed earlier or staying in bed longer in the morning are good ways to add on extra moments of sleep, if you’re able to. Sleep deprivation can have big impacts on mental health, and can lead to a more challenging labor.
Name your fears. Facing your fears around labor and birth head-on can help to take away the power they hold over you. Learn all you can about your fears, seek out accurate information, dispel myths, and make any changes you might need, within your power. Share those fears with your team so they can best support you.
Identify potential triggers. If you have experienced any previous trauma, consider whether these past experiences might have an impact on you during labor. Journal about it, talk to a trusted friend or family member, and/or find a qualified professional who can help. Discuss any worries with a trusted person (or people) on your support team and reflect on any coping tools that might help redirect your experience should any triggers be activated in labor.
Let go. Paradoxically, one of the biggest sources of control you will have in labor is actually in your surrender to control. After you’ve informed and prepared yourself as best you can, identified your birth preferences and built a support team that has your back, let go and lean in to the process of birth and let your body lead the way.
Part of the Mission of Wildwood Birth is to help put a dent in the birth trauma statistics. Our childbirth education course takes a wholistic approach, prepares you for all the ways birth can unfold, and provides you with research-based information so you can make the decisions that are right for you and your baby. Click here to learn more.