Birth Trauma Therapy
Signs you may benefit from support
Reliving the Moments: Finding your mind constantly pulled back to specific, scary moments of your labor, delivery, or NICU experiences, and your body responding as if it was happening again
Grieving Your Birth Plan: Feeling a heavy anger or sadness because your birth experience involved medical emergencies, unexpected interventions, or a lack of compassionate care
Feeling Disconnected or Betrayed by Your Body: Walking away from birth feeling like your body failed you, or experiencing a profound disconnect from your physical self, making it difficult to feel present during physical healing or bonding moments with your baby
Silenced Pain: Feeling lonely because when you try to voice how hard the birth was, well-meaning friends and family say, "At least you and the baby are healthy”, silencing your trauma and leaving you feeling guilty for struggling with the emotional wounds
How can therapy help?
Untangle the Past from the Present
Help your brain process the shock of what happened with trauma-informed tools to allow your nervous system to finally realize that the danger is over and you are safe now
Share Your (Whole) Story
A safe space to voice the emotions or thoughts you are experiencing without any pressure to soften parts of your story or force a silver lining
Feel Safe in Your Body Again
Gently utilize body-centered processing to help you reconnect with your physical body on your own terms, shifting you out of the numbness or hypervigilance that trauma can leave behind
Feel Prepared for Future Medical Care
If your birth trauma has left you terrified of future pregnancies, gynecological exams, or medical environments, learn how to build your internal resources so you can navigate future care with more confidence
Frequently Asked Questions
-
Yes, absolutely. Because the brain stores traumatic memories differently than regular memories, an unprocessed birth story can feel just as raw and terrifying five years later as it did five days later. It is never too late to seek healing.
-
Trauma is not defined by what a medical chart says; it is defined by how your nervous system experienced the event. If you felt helpless, invisible, unprotected, or terrified during your labor and delivery, your body can register that as trauma. A lack of informed consent, feeling ignored by medical staff, or a sudden escalation of interventions can leave deep psychological wounds even if the delivery was labeled "routine."
-
We can begin working together immediately following a traumatic event, but the early focus will be on stabilizing your nervous system, building emotional resources, and establishing safety. We will not dive straight into reprocessing deep, traumatic memories while your body is still in acute physical or hormonal recovery. We pace EMDR to match your physical capacity, ensuring you feel completely grounded every step of the way.
-
While they frequently overlap, birth trauma specifically involves symptoms of post-traumatic stress. If you find yourself actively avoiding thinking about the birth, experiencing flashbacks or nightmares, or feeling intensely panicked by medical settings, you are likely navigating trauma. Postpartum depression tends to look more like a flat, pervasive cloud of sadness and hopelessness. In therapy, we treat both, but approach it differently at times.