A Silent Struggle: Understanding Trauma Within Your Birth Partner

by Sydney C.

08/12/2024

The birthing process is arduous, strenuous, and draining.

After childbirth, 15% of people will experience symptoms of Postpartum Depression.

While the birth giver is provided with access to resources that address the emotional highs and lows, fatigue, guilt, and anxiety that often accompany labor, the birth partner may be experiencing similar prodromes that go unacknowledged and untreated.

Birth Partner Trauma is characterized by symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in the birth partner post-labor.

For lots of birth partners, the experience of witnessing a complicated pregnancy can be triggering.

If the birth giver or child encountered complications during the birthing journey, the third-party may suffer from feelings of guilt and blame themselves for the pain experienced. Birth partners may begin to show signs of reliving the traumatic event; adopting nightmares, panic attacks, and a constant feeling of distress.

Birth partners may even try to avoid reminders of the pregnancy altogether and detach emotionally from their families, reporting that they don't want to pursue having any more children.

Despite feelings of fear and hopelessness, there are ways to keep the trauma of birth from having a detrimental impact.  

It is important that parental units practice maintaining open dialogue before, after, and during the birthing journey. By attending appointments and meetings together, you remind yourselves that the conception and birth of your child has and will always be a two-player game.

While keeping this partnership alive, it is also imperative that you recognize your worth as individuals. Schedule time for self-care and look into different forms of therapy that may guide you in processing the reality of birth. Consider talking to a healthcare professional about the benefits of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), two methods of treatment aimed at reducing the distress associated with traumatic memories.

Recognize that your feelings are valid.

By validating your experience, you take the first step in healing. Acknowledge the pain so that you may release it and leave more room for the love you and your partner set out to create in the first place.

You are not alone in this journey. Take time to hear testimonies from the women featured in the video that accompanies this article and be on the lookout for more facts, tips, and resources provided by the Birth Circle Community.