Birth

Whatever our choices, we all hope for births which are complication-free.

For many, the experience of birth can be traumatic, an event very far from the much hoped-for and dreamed-of. This can be for many, many different reasons, but those commonly experienced are related to:

• Long, painful, stressful labours
• Birth being painfully different to expectations and hopes
• Stress experienced by parents because of the threat or fear of injury or death to mother or baby
• Experiences of poor care or feeling not listened-to
• Birth experiences serving as a reminder of previous trauma or abuse
• Separation after birth because of mother or baby’s ill-health

The effects of such stress vary from person to person, but can range from difficult feelings which resolve when talked through with a loved one, professional or confidante, through problems sleeping, concentrating (as if there aren’t enough of those when you have just given birth!) to more complex psychological difficulties, such as low self-worth and low mood (depression), high levels of worry and agitation (anxiety) or to post-traumatic stress disorder (symptoms which include fear and the feeling in some circumstances that the trauma is happening all over again).

These can be frightening experiences, and it’s not always easy to ask for help, or even to know if you need it.

Bloom Psychology can help in a number of ways. This would usually start with a first meeting in which we think together about the best way forward in your individual circumstances- but might include one or two sessions individually, with your baby, or a longer therapeutic process. The good news is that if you are feeling this way, you are not alone, and that talking through your experience with a qualified professional can help.