What you should know about psychological birth trauma
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Thousands of UK mums experience birth trauma every year – but we don’t talk much about the psychological effects.
By Tanyel Mustafa
So charities and organisations are coming together to change that with Birth Trauma Awareness Week, which runs until July 25.
Midwife Marley, who works with breastfeeding brand Lansinoh, says: ‘Psychological birth trauma is distress experienced by a mother during or after childbirth.
‘It often occurs as a result of a physically traumatic birth but not always. It can also refer to how a woman is left feeling after her birth and often the effects of birth trauma can emerge and continue for some time after the baby is born.
‘Some people describe feeling fearful, helpless or unheard during their birth experience. Shock, panic, guilt or emotional numbness are other words that have been used to describe how they felt. Birth trauma can lead to panic attacks.’
Lesley Gilchrist, a registered midwife and co-founder of My Expert Midwife, explains that in some ...
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