Processing Childbirth Trauma
“Giving birth is little more than a set of muscular contractions granting passage of a child. Then, the mother is born.” - Erma Bombeck
This blog post is for all of you mothers out there! The process of giving birth to a child can be one of the most rewarding times for a mother but it can also be one of the most physically and emotionally traumatic events in a woman’s life. The challenges and physical pain that happen during childbirth are often forgotten by society and a mother’s experience, especially if it was a negative one, is easily overlooked and forgotten, even by the mother herself.
The very act of giving birth to another human being is not an easy process for anybody or their body. Some women are in labor far longer than expected and medical interventions often have to take place to ensure the health and safety of the baby and mother. This often means that the mother’s body and tissues get traumatized and can trap emotions deep within.
Let's Clear The Trauma Away!
I have had the great opportunity to help many mothers to process the emotions and pain that occurred during the child birthing process, even if it is decades later. Our bodies hold onto painful memories, which are in part created by the hormones and chemicals that are dumped into our bloodstream and tissues as stressful events occur. It is important to process those emotions and pains to ensure that we have released them from our bodies and our brains.
I can help mothers clear the pain and emotions that may be stuck in their brains and bodies after childbirth. Imagine carrying around a weight and vague heaviness for decades without completely understanding where it came from. Then imagine being able to set it down and walk lightly away. Hormones, stress, pain, chemicals, and trauma that happens during childbirth can imprint into our brains and tissues pretty strongly, so it is important to recognize that and work on removing it. This goes for any traumatic or painful experience, such as a simple knee injury or surgery.
One big difference with childbirth trauma and other traumas is the fear of birthing that can accumulate before a child is born. Nobody likes knowing that they are going to experience great pain in the looming future, which can essentially initiate the moment a woman learns she is pregnant. This fear and stress can build and actually amplify during the birthing process, which can make things all the more traumatic in an already stressful and emotionally charged event.
Because childbirth and the pain associated with it has been around as long as we as the human race have been around, it is easy for women to feel dismissive or as though they shouldn’t complain about their experience or its ongoing negative effects.
