birthaftertrauma birthwithoutfear hypnobirthing birth littlefeethypnobirthing merseyside bumptobaby hypnobirthingormskirk pregnancy hypnobirthingforall hypnobirthinglancashire birthsupport breastfeeding breastfeedingsupport bumptobabyandbeyond lancashirelife liverpool loveatfirstkick mumdadandbaby positivebirth westlancashire birthpreparation birthtrauma aughton lancashire ormskirk baby southport calm control birth
Maternal Mental Health Week 2019 // How we feel about our own experience matters. Today I spent the day with a dear friend and client. She is on the threshold and we spent the day making postpartum healing crafts and foods, telling tales about the strength of mothers and we laughed a LOT. She is preparing to birth her second child, almost 8 years to the day that her older daughter was born. Every day since that day @ms__paiger has held the charge of that experience. In preparing to birth again, Jess has worked with her trauma and come to understand the vastness of her capacity, to be with fear and keep going anyway. As she prepares to bring this babe earthside she isn’t denying any feeling, or creating a hierarchical experience- this is the embodiment of so much, so many massive life lessons being courageously and vulnerably held. Tomorrow we go to battle- we dance in the space between. She has a care team that is centering her experience and outcome as totally entwined sides of the same coin. Why is it a shock to see compassion and understanding alongside risk management and protocol? It is a great honor to serve on this team and I wish for #maternalmentalhealthweek we can discuss not only the syndromes and diagnoses but also the maternal care systems that repeatedly fall short and create lasting emotional trauma. There is so much healing possible in the rites of passage such as birth- we don’t ask to be assured perfection or the manufacturing of false expectations. We ask to be given a chance to be in our bodies without shame, to be allowed to require empathy, to be heard and trusted, to be seen and honored as whole, powerful and magnificent. People on the threshold of birth and parenthood are certainly answering a “call to courage”- (still have half of the @netflix @brenebrown special to watch!) posted with permission #maternalhealth #maternalmentalhealth #doula #birthwork #vbac #birthaftertrauma #specialneedsmoms
New blog post: giving birth after trauma. Link in my profile.
“Sometimes even after the traumatic event is finished, our amygdala becomes sensitized to cues or triggers that remind us of the original overwhelming event, signaling to us that we are in danger even when the danger has long passed. The experiences of pregnancy, labor, birth, and postpartum bring up many triggers for those who have experienced trauma, particularly sexual assault”
#traumasurvivor #birthaftertrauma #birth #birthtrauma #birthtraumarecovery #sexualassault #postpartum #pregnancy #pregnancyanxiety #perinatalmentalhealth#maternalmentalhealth #womenshealth #healing #traumarecovery #doula #birthcounselling #birthdoula #birthplan
*~TW~*
Sexual Assault
Soon enough, I’ll be holding space for birthing people. I’m constantly learning and will continue to do so.
I was sexually assaulted more than a handful of times. This is a conversation that birth workers should have and learn about, so I would like to talk about it with you all. I know that most individuals have similar stories, unfortunately. We need to check on those who have dealt with assault.
In therapy, I have a motion or gesture that I do when I’m uncomfortable. My therapist will stop whatever we’re doing and check on me. We set boundaries before we jump into EMDR and It’s kind of like my “safe word”. In birth, we might need a safe word. It can be a tapping motion, an actual word, or any sort of gesture. Of course, we should look out for visible discomfort, but some might be afraid to say.
From my own experiences, birth is incredibly triggering. The “pain” from labor can bring up feelings from an actual assault. This can cause more emotional pain than physical and it quickly made me want to jump out of my own skin. I was reliving every time I had been violated, especially with my previous hospital experience and non consensual cervical checks. Bleeding after the exams made me dissociate. I remember when I bled before and felt like I went back in time. I felt unsafe, dirty, and mortified.
Sexual assault can come up in birth, which can most definitely impact a birthing person labor.
If you’re a birth worker, do you have conversations about this with other birth workers? How might you help a birthing person through birth after assault?
My midwife asked for verbal consent before doing anything. She was gentle and made me feel comfortable with talking to her about anything.
#birthaftertrauma #thebodykeepsthescore #birthbetter #birthtrauma #birthdoula
~ HEY THERE BABBY ~
Having declined three induction dates (I was well, babe was well, there was no medical need), baby made mama proud when she or he signalled their impending arrival at midnight on the day I had finally agreed to be induced (41+ 5 days pregnant). I will bring my blog out of hibernation soon to write my birth story but for now, I will say this to anyone anxious about birth after trauma, or indeed their first birth. THIS BIRTH HAS HEALED MY TRAUMA FROM FIRST TIME AROUND.
It was intense. A combination of a contraction and a shock of panic when I saw the birthing centre (hello trauma memories) meant I nearly collapsed walking into the hospital. It went too quickly for pain relief other than gas and air. I would be lying if I wasn't occasionally cussing my choice to have a second baby as I contracted 2cm every hour! However, I had the most magnificent midwife, my husband was incredible and coached me to 6cm at home. I pushed out our 9lb 3oz baby girl (surprise!) in three pushes, knowing where she was every second and doing it without being coached because the midwife knew (and so did I by this point) that I had it covered. I let my body take over and stopped over thinking. We were discharged four hours after meeting our daughter and went home to let our son meet his new baby sister ♥ A polar opposite experience to my first birth. Here I am looking a bit like a mermaid, stark naked, about to enjoy the best tea and toast in the world. Cheers!
#birthstory #birthaftertrauma #hellobabygirl #birthannoucement #41weekspregnant #secondpregnancy #secondtimemum
Amazing birth story from Sam, one of my recent #hypnobirthing clients - a lovely one to read on the lead up to #mothersday.
.
Sam was so nervous about giving birth after a really traumatic experience first time round - read what she has to say by flicking through the images
.
Sam mentioned that she was slightly embarrassed by her picture as she says she looks rough - I think she looks absolutely BEAUTIFUL
.
If you would like to know more about the techniques Sam used to make her birth a positive one, please get in touch - link in bio .
.
#pregnancy #mamaserene #hypnobirthing #hypnobirthingrocks #hypnobirthingborehamwood #hypnobirthingbushey #hypnobirthingelstree #hypnobirthingmillhill #hypnobirthingclass #hypnobirthingfinchley #antenatalclasses
#hypnobirthing #Independentwoman #yourvoice #hypnoskills #pregnancyyoga #pregnancypilates #birthstory #positivebirth #birthaftertrauma #positivebirthstories #positivevibes #positiveaffirmations #mindfulness #calmbirth
*~TW~* Sexual Assault
Other things that you can look out for, as a birth worker, might include body language and sound!
Going into birth, I very much feared a room full of people and being touched. I’m a jumpy person and my blood pressure can raise from something as simple as my child walking into the room. I really feared being touched when pushing and it did come up, for me.
I very much resisted being open and keeping my legs open, though I had affirmations reminding me this. FER was a very difficult sensation to embrace. I felt my body opening on its own, but I didn’t want to open my legs at all. I had made it past some of the emotional barriers, but this one came right at the end, after transition. I was pushing, on my back, in the same position that I was in during a different time.
The only thing that got me through was finally letting go. I talk about “acceptance” and “acceptance therapy” a lot, with my counselor. I was finally at a good place, mentally. I had gone through many different emotions, during labor. Fear, terror, anxiety, paranoia, sadness, questioning my existence, and more. I even got into the mindset that the “pain” from labor was punishment. After going through so many different emotions, I can’t begin to explain how much acceptance helped me and was healing. Please, be mindful of a birthing person’s body language.
My midwife told me that sometimes survivors can have a different type of scream. This is also important to listen for. The pitch, tone, and everything.
Handle a birthing person gently, consensually, and with care.
Be patient with those who are at war with themselves.
#birthaftertrauma #talkaboutbirthtrauma #acceptance #acceptancetherapy #EMDR #therapyrocks #assaultandbirth #midwiferycare #doulas #thebodykeepsthescore
As Cicely is four weeks outside the womb today, I thought I might share my birth story. If you've followed me for a bit you'll know that I was carrying some previous trauma from Violet's birth, which was a contributing factor to me suffering quite severely from postnatal anxiety/intrusive thoughts. So I was all about damage limitation second time around. I initially wished I had the coin to chuck at a c section, K-Mid style in the Lindo Wing. Because then I wouldn't have to face a repeat of last time, despite everyone telling me it would be different. So I did something that I'm usually shit at - pulling my head out of the sand and DOING SOMETHING ABOUT IT, as follows -
1.I attended a birth afterthoughts session, where you go through the notes from your previous labour. I would defo recommend doing this if you have questions surrounding your birth experience, not just if you're preggo. (It took me some time and a @mother_of_daughters namedrop to access the service)
2. @daisy_mkandnorthants birth prep classes - fab, accessibly priced (NCT was prohibitively expensive for me previously), non judgmental classes, based on yoga, hypnobirthing and relaxation techniques with some antenatal ed thrown in. (There are classes countrywide if you don't live in my ends).
3. I practiced hypnobirthing techniques at home using @thepositivebirthcompany 's AMAZING online course, usually in my nightly bath (THE LUXURY. Now I'm lucky if I get the opportunity to wipe my fanny with a tepid flannel). I made the decision to give birth in my local MLU. Only a few sentences were uttered from the moment I arrived. I got straight in the pool. Classic FM was playing (I'm a 1Xtra gal, but it was delightful). A bit of gas and air (that's what the tube is, not my baby's giant umbilical cord). I grabbed my amazing midwife's arm twice but only in the tiniest of wobbles. I never really left 'the zone' (wooooo). No bright lights, no demands to examine me, no drips, needles, 'failure to progress', shouting, scalpels, stirrups, medieval shit, broken blood vessels. Just me being mostly left alone to breathe my baby out in the water. To Classic bloody FM. I DID IT AND THIS WAS MY FACE
Collecter les statistiques #BIRTHAFTERTRAUMA effectuez une recherche à l'obtention des statistiques (Aller à la sélection).