Louise Thompson
All you need to know if you – or a loved one – have been affected
How common is it to have a traumatic birth?
Birth trauma exists on a sliding scale, with scenarios like Louise’s – where women develop post-traumatic stress disorder after birth – thankfully rare. Just 4% to 5% of UK women who give birth experience PTSD afterwards, roughly 30,000. Symptoms include reliving the trauma, vivid flashbacks, intrusive thoughts, intense distress at reminders of the trauma and avoiding feelings related to it. Others with birth trauma may experience some of these symptoms and still require mental health support but don’t meet the stringent diagnostic threshold for PTSD.
Can talking therapy help?
Yes. In trauma-focused CBT, you and your therapist will discuss the traumatic events, look at your perceptions and thought processes, and use relaxation techniques to help create a safe environment where you can process the difficult or traumatic aspects of your birth. CBT usually involves six to 12 one-hour sessions over the course of two or three months.
What about EMDR?
Short for eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing, EMDR seeks to stop traumatic memories causing so much distress by helping the mind to reprocess them. A therapist will ask you to think about the trauma while following a moving object, such as a finger, with your eye, or listening to taps and tones through headphones, played alternately in each ear. The treatment follows a set structure, and a typical course consists of six to 12 one-hour sessions, again over the course of two or three months.
How do I access support?
You can access both treatments on the NHS or privately. If you opt for a private therapist, it’s best to find someone who is registered with a professional body such as BACP
