Birth trauma/PTSD resources for healing - Page 3

[aweynsayl]

another resource for those who are using tapping or eft in their healing journey.... this article from the eft site.

[jennica]

Discussion Board for Healing Birth Trauma

This message is to announce a new online discussion board called Solace For Mothers, An Online Community For Healing Birth Trauma. It is for women who have experienced trauma around the process of giving birth. For these women, giving birth has left them feeling deeply disappointed, traumatized, or even violated. We want these women to know that they are not alone, that birth trauma is very real, and that other women have had similar experiences and feelings. We have created an online community as a place for women to begin or continue their healing journey.

In the online community, there are different categories and forums, and the topics covered are issues that often come up for women dealing with birth trauma. It is our hope that women can virtually support each other on their healing journeys in this online community, and perhaps eventually connect with each other in the real world if they choose.

There is an introduction page here; http://www.solaceformothers.org/forum.html, and from this page you can register for the discussion board. Due to the very personal nature of this subject, we have made an effort to keep this community private, and women must register before being able to enter or view posts. If you do not fall into the category of a woman suffering from birth trauma, or if you would like to see a preview of the community before joining, you may visit this link to do so; http://www.solaceformothers.org/preview.html. This link is not the actual community and you will not be able to view members' posts from there, it will simply give you an overview of the topics covered.

We are sending this message out via email and posting it to online communities and to lists in order to reach these women. Please send this message to anyone who you feel may benefit from it.

Sincerely,

Jenne Alderks and Jennifer Zimmerman, creators and moderators of the discussion board

Supported by Sharon Storton and the Solace For Mothers team

[mothercat]

Jennica, thank you for posting the info. I came here today to do just this and you beat me to it.
Thanks you again. It looks like a great site.

Linda

[jennica]

Originally Posted by mothercat

Jennica, thank you for posting the info. I came here today to do just this and you beat me to it.
Thanks you again. It looks like a great site.

Linda

Your welcome! It was created by Jenneology and myself, and aweynsayl joined in as well and helped out a lot. We joined up with Sharon Storton of Solace and she has the resources to host it. It already has over 100 members, which of course is bitter sweet. Hopefully one day we wont need a site like this, but for now I am glad it is here for the women that need it.

[That Is Nice]

subscribing

[kakies]

Are any of these sites helpful for women who have suffered the traumatic birth of a baby who didn't survive? I am looking for a site that can be helpful in this situation, thanks.

A friend is in need of support.

[jennica]

Originally Posted by kakies

Are any of these sites helpful for women who have suffered the traumatic birth of a baby who didn't survive? I am looking for a site that can be helpful in this situation, thanks.

A friend is in need of support.

There is at least one women, I think two, that have posted on the Solace board whose babies did not survive, and there is definitely room for this aspect of birth trauma there. I think it really depends on what your friend is needing to work through right now. The birth trauma, or the grief of loosing a child. If she is really struggling with the birth trauma, then I recommend the Solace discussion board. If she is really struggling with the grief, I recommend finding her some resources that deal with that specifically. Or perhaps resources for both issues would work best for her.

[rosiecreekmama]

questions about post-birth trauma?

i just found out that i am pregnant for the second time and i am growing increasingly scared as i think about the birth. i had a midwife attended birth in a birth center and the actual birth of my daughter went very, very well. but minutes after she was born, i was pulled out of the tub, immediately given pitocin, and my placenta was manually extracted. it was more painful than the birth.

i would like to know if this is just how placentas are dealt with at birthcenters, if this is a condition i have, if there are alternative ways to extract the placenta, if anyone else has experienced this? they simply told me that because i was not immediately experiencing contractions, i had no other choice. is this routine? any information would be wonderful!

[mothercat]

Originally Posted by rosiecreekmama

i just found out that i am pregnant for the second time and i am growing increasingly scared as i think about the birth. i had a midwife attended birth in a birth center and the actual birth of my daughter went very, very well. but minutes after she was born, i was pulled out of the tub, immediately given pitocin, and my placenta was manually extracted. it was more painful than the birth.

i would like to know if this is just how placentas are dealt with at birthcenters, if this is a condition i have, if there are alternative ways to extract the placenta, if anyone else has experienced this? they simply told me that because i was not immediately experiencing contractions, i had no other choice. is this routine? any information would be wonderful!

rosiecreekmama

No, this is not routine! I am a midwife who runs a birth center and does home birth. The only time I ask a mom to get out of the tub is if I am seeing an increasing amount of blood and she hasn't yet birthed the placenta. It may be a partial placental separation, usually due to the shearing of the placenta from the uterus starting at an edge rather than in the center of the placenta.
Even at that, Mom can stay in the tub while I give her a shot of Pit and we usually have the placenta out in a minute or so. If that doesn't happen, I need her out of the tub so I can make sure it isn't a bad tear and it is just easier for me to manage the situation w/o worrying about falling in the water.

There are alternatives, such as using angelica tincture to get the placenta to release, and shepherd's purse tincture to slow any bleeding. There is always giving a shot of Pit once the anterior shoulder is birthed to hasten the birth of the placenta and control any bleeding.

The deciding factor is whether mom is stable. If the uterus isn't rising, there is no bleeding, mom feels well, etc. there is no reason to rush birthing the placenta. I have waited more than 90 minutes for a mom who was stable and not having contractions. Turns out her mom and sister had both done the same thing over a combined 7 births. It was just how the family birthed their placentas.

HTH

mothercat

[dylan]

More perspectives on Birth Trauma

It's great to see so many resources, and so many who are finding support for this!

And I also want to share a little of what the prenatal and perinatal community has come to understand: That birth trauma can be true for the baby too. Sometimes even the best birth from the mother's perspective can be hard for the baby - they have their own experience and remember it. But if you, as a mom, is experiencing traumatic memories or negative feelings about the birth you've had, then your baby probably has some birth trauma too.

It can be identified and healed in infancy, often quickly, so they don't have to adapt, develop beliefs and behaviors to compensate for it their whole lives.

[Sifreynir]

hi thought I would add some more information

http://www.birthtraumaassociation.org.uk - is the birth trauma association

http://www.mamaconference.co.uk/march2009.html - conference which is exploring birth trauma

http://www.sheilakitzinger.com/birthcrisis.htm - is a UK group

I suffered from PTSD for the last 10 years give or take. I only really resolved all issues this year after the unassisted birth of my fourth child this october.

Anyone wanting to read a summary of my journey can view them

http://www.homebirth.org.uk/cassandra.htm - the UC one is yet to be added.

[jennica]

A warmline. Phone support for mothers who have experienced birth trauma and need to talk to someone.

Interview questions to ask a mental health professional. It is often hard to find a mental health professional who is capable of working with birth trauma, or of recognizing that postpartum trauma is different and needs to be treated differently then PPD. These questions can help you assess whether or not the therapist will be a good fit for you in working through your birth trauma issues.

[lissbee]

More Birth Trauma Resources

Hi - my name is Melissa and I am from Birthtalk.org, an Australian-based organisation. We specialise in Birth trauma support, birth grief and birth disappointment support,as well as understanding & tools for healing.

You have some fantastic resources here in this Forum, which is just so wonderful...and I just thought I'd offer our website as another source of information for those needing validation and understanding after a traumatic birth.

I began Birthtalk.org with my sister-in-law, (a midwife and mum herself), when I could find no support after my own very traumatic experience.

The sections on our site that might be of most help are :

Articles :
"Why Birth Trauma is Unspoken - most of us don't even know what we've experienced" (this is my own story after a traumatic caesarean, and moving to understanding and healing...can be very helpful to read when trying to find ways to express to other people what has happened to you)

"Birth Trauma - Fixing the Hurt" - published in a national parenting magazine, Birthtalk were interviewed for this article, and Birthtalk mums were interviewed.

Web Pages
Tips For Healing a Bad Birth
Bad Birth FAQs

Anyway - we also have a monthly free support group in Brisbane, Australia, and would love to see any of you who live locally there

Thank you for this Forum - it is sadly so very much needed.

Best wishes,
Melissa
birthtalk.orgTM
Makes Birth BetterTM

[jenneology]

Lissbee, I might be joining you in person in a few years because my husband's schooling might take us to Brisbane. Thanks for posting.

[lissbee]

No worries...and might see you in a few years

Best wishes,
Melissa,
Birthtalk.orgTM
Makes Birth BetterTM

[jenneology]

Self-assessment for PTSD

http://www.healthyplace.com/psycholo...sts/ptsd-test/

I like this quiz more than the others I've seen.

If you think you have PTSD or if you are experiencing a traumatic response (whether its diagnosable or not), here are some questions that can help you find a therapist who understands what birth trauma is: http://www.solaceformothers.org/ther...interview.html

[CI Mama]

Here's another website that I have found helpful:
http://www.plus-size-pregnancy.org/C...ionalrecov.htm

It's about emotional recovery from C-section, but might be useful to anyone trying to make sense of their difficult emotional journey following a traumatic birth of any kind. Also, the website suggests that it's for women of size, but I would find it applicable to anyone.

I also found dance/movement therapy extremely helpful for me, especially because I was able to find a d/mt therapist who had worked through her own traumatic birth experience, so I felt like she really "got it." My therapist had me talk about my experience, express a variety of emotional responses through movement, write, draw, move with music, move in silence...the combination of many modalities was very helpful for me. I needed to talk it out, but I also needed to address the fact that I felt so betrayed by my body. Being able to literally "move through it" was very helpful. I feel that I carry grief and trauma through my whole body, not just up in my brain, and d/mt allowed me to process those feelings through my whole body. I did all the therapy I could pay for during the period when my daughter was 6-12 months old, and it was extremely helpful.

BTW, dance/movement therapy is not just for "dancers". The American Dance Therapy Association (http://www.adta.org/) has more information about d/mt and how to find a therapist.

[mothercat]

I haven't checked this site for a while, although I send women here quite often.
Thank you to all who have posted and added to this sticky.

[mckinlt]

Is there a forum or a yahoogroup for mommas who have lost their babies in a homebirth? There are local baby death groups, but none specific to homebirth, which has a whole different connotation for a family.

There is a family in need who could use other mommas who have been there and are able to share about it.

Thanks so much for any leads. Tammi