Content Note: This newsletter includes reflections on birth trauma from my personal experience. If this feels too close to home today, or you think it might upset you, feel free to skip it or come back when you’re ready.
June is PTSD Awareness Month, and there’s one form of trauma that rarely gets the attention it deserves: Childbirth Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (CB-PTSD).
While we often picture childbirth as a moment of celebration and joy, that’s not the full story for everyone. For many parents and infants, birth can be a moment of fear, helplessness, or trauma.
When things don’t go as planned, when parents feel dismissed or silenced in the delivery room, or when racism and other systemic issues shape their care, the emotional aftermath can be profound. In healthcare, the focus is typically on physical trauma, but in this case, the trauma I am referring to is psychological.
My Experience with Birth Trauma
I’m so grateful my baby was born healthy, but I feared for our lives during and after the delivery. No, I’m not exaggerating. After almost 24 hours of labor, I was rushed into an emergency c-section because my baby’s heart rate kept dropping. My biggest fear about giving birth was having a c-section, and now it was happening.
After I gave birth, I experienced something no one prepared me for. I began shaking uncontrollably. Violently. For hours. I couldn’t hold my baby. I couldn’t talk. I couldn’t stop it, and I had no idea why it was happening.
At the time, I thought I was dying. Now I know: my body was responding exactly as it should after experiencing trauma.
Here’s what I’ve since learned:
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Intense tremors and shaking are often caused by an adrenaline crash. Your nervous system goes into overdrive during a birth emergency, and the shaking is your body’s way of releasing stored tension and fear.
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Spinal or epidural anesthesia can trigger shivering by lowering your body temperature or confusing your body’s internal thermostat.
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Blood loss, medication reactions, or trauma responses can all contribute to shaking or tremors.
And perhaps most importantly:
This is not rare, and mothers should not be left to process it alone. We should prepare birthing people ahead of time for this potential outcome and explain why it happens, so we can prevent trauma.
The shaking eventually stopped, and I did eventually get to hold my baby, but those moments, plus the guilt of losing immediate skin-to-skin contact, lodged themselves deep in my nervous system.
Birth is supposed to be beautiful, and yes, there are beautiful parts for some people. But for others, it’s terrifying, and that’s not your fault.
If this happened to you, I want you to hear this loud and clear:
You are not broken. You are not weak. You are not alone.
Did my healthcare team prepare me for the potential for trauma? No. Did they acknowledge what I went through as a traumatic event? No. Did anyone assess me for anxiety or PTSD in the following weeks? No. Did a doctor or nurse follow up with me when I marked “yes” on the questionnaire about suicidal thoughts? No. Did any medical professional ask me how my birth experience went? No.
If you are a healthcare provider, I understand that it is never your intention to harm people or leave them reeling from a traumatic experience without support. You are saving lives and doing your best in a system that is not equipping you to prevent trauma. This doesn’t mean you need to be a therapist or mental health professional, but a few small shifts can make a huge difference in the way birthing people experience labor and delivery.
The good news: Birth trauma is not inevitable and much of it is preventable! This is why I share my story and train healthcare providers in trauma-informed and healing-centered care.
What Do the Numbers Say? 
Research shows that up to 1/3 of women describe their birth as traumatic, and about 4% – 6% develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a result (Dekel et al., 2017).
Birth trauma doesn’t just affect moms. It can have lasting effects on the infant’s stress response system and early attachment, especially when trauma interferes with bonding in the critical postpartum period. Partners and spouses are also impacted, although at lower rates.
Since we already know from research by neuroscientist, Dr. Bruce Perry, that the first two months of life significantly impact the trajectory of a child’s mental health across the lifespan, we MUST do better for parents and babies (Perry, B. D., & Winfrey, O., 2021).
This month, in honor of PTSD Awareness Month, let’s raise our collective awareness of birth-related PTSD. Not to dwell on fear, but to create opportunities for prevention and healing.
The Causes of Birth Trauma
Contrary to popular belief, birth trauma isn’t only about emergency complications or physical pain. It’s often about how a person feels during the process.
Mothers describe birth as traumatic when they:
- Lose their sense of control or autonomy
- Feel disrespected, ignored, or silenced
- Aren’t given adequate information to make choices
- Experience unexpected interventions without consent
- Feel unsafe, unsupported, or emotionally alone
“It wasn’t the cesarean that broke me. It was how no one looked me in the eye or explained what was happening.” – H.W., new mom
This emotional rupture can linger, especially when it’s never validated. And when trauma goes untreated, it can interrupt early bonding time with the baby, parent self-esteem, and even breastfeeding.
When we experience trauma, one of the main symptoms is avoidance. Avoidance of experiences that consciously or unconsciously remind us of the trauma.
I’m going to drop a bomb here: In the case of birth trauma, the reminder is the baby. Imagine a mother who loves her child and always wanted to be a mother, but now is experiencing flashbacks whenever she is near the baby. This can be extremely disruptive to the early attachment process that needs to take place between caregivers and children.
Babies Can Be Impacted Too
A traumatic birth doesn’t just live in the mind of adults. It lives in the body, and babies feel it too.
Research shows that infants born following difficult deliveries may:
- Exhibit disrupted sleep or feeding
- Startle easily
- Have trouble self-soothing
- Struggle to co-regulate with caregivers
(Grienenberger et al., 2005)
This is a perfect storm. After childbirth trauma, not only is the mother emotionally dysregulated, but so is the infant, making childcare nearly impossible for many parents to manage.
Because babies are wired for connection, they attune to our emotional states. A mother experiencing Childbirth PTSD may unintentionally transmit signals of hypervigilance, fear, or withdrawal. This doesn’t mean they’re a bad parent, it means they need and deserve additional support.
The Good News: Prevention Is Possible
Preventing birth trauma doesn’t mean preventing all complications. That would be impossible. Doctors, midwives, and nurses do their best under intense circumstances and competing demands to bring a healthy mother and baby through labor and delivery.
I want to recognize that nobody comes into the field of maternal health to cause trauma. Period.
And yet, with the research we currently have on Childbirth PTSD, it is clear we need to work harder to create environments of dignity, consent, and emotional safety, even in difficult or emergent situations during childbirth.
Four Research-Backed Strategies to Reduce Birth Trauma
1. Empower with Voice and Choice
When birthing people feel seen, heard, and respected, they’re far less likely to interpret the experience as traumatic, even when things don’t go as planned.
- Ask permission before touching or performing procedures
- Ask for their preferred name and pronouns
- Explain each step of the process slowly and offer choices whenever possible
- Validate feelings. Even (and especially) when things get intense
Autonomy and informed consent aren’t luxuries in childbirth. They are protective factors against PTSD (Beck et al., 2021).
2. Train Perinatal Providers in Trauma-Informed Care
Most OBs, nurses, and midwives were trained in life-saving procedures, and for good reason, but they are not necessarily trained in how to prevent birth trauma.
Trauma-informed birth care includes:
- Using a warm tone and empathy
- Assuming every patient may have a trauma history
- Supporting emotional and psychological safety, not just physical
- Slowing down to explain procedures and options so the patient has time to process and make informed decisions
“Alive shouldn’t be the only bar practitioners aim to reach. Alive is the floor, not the ceiling of trauma-informed care.” – Beth Tyson
3. Debrief Birth Experiences
Many new parents feel confused or disconnected from what happened during delivery, especially after a traumatic or fast-moving birth. This confusion can plant seeds of PTSD.
Creating space for new parents to share and process their birth story may help reduce distress and support emotional healing, though research findings on the long-term mental health benefits are still evolving.
A structured birth debrief, ideally conducted within the first few weeks postpartum, helps individuals make sense of their experience, process emotions, and reconnect with their story (Ayers et al., 2016).
4. Screen and Support for PTSD Early
Postpartum PTSD symptoms can include:
- Nightmares or flashbacks of the birth
- Hypervigilance or panic
- Emotional numbness or shame
- Difficulty bonding with or avoiding the baby
Sadly, these symptoms are often overlooked or mislabeled as “normal baby blues” or postpartum depression, which further shames a mother who is already struggling to keep her head above water.
Early screening and trauma-informed therapy can interrupt the shame cycle before it deepens.
What Healing Can Look Like
If you experienced birth trauma, you’re not alone, and you’re not failing! I experienced a traumatic birth with my child almost 9 years ago, and I was overwhelmed in the early days with anxiety and depression.
Over time, things improved, and I’m living proof that healing is possible with trauma-informed care.
Please ask for help from your loved ones or reach out to your OBGYN for therapy referrals. Your child needs you to get better, and you will thank yourself later.
Hopeful news: Most women who experience PTSD after childbirth go on to recover, particularly with therapy and medication. Studies show that over 80% follow a recovery trajectory in the first year postpartum (Dikmen-Yildiz et al., 2018).
With validation, connection, and trauma-informed care, healing is not only possible, it’s likely.
Healing from PTSD might include:
- EMDR or somatic therapy
- Talking with a trauma-informed therapist
- Grieving the birth that didn’t go as you hoped
- Writing or speaking your story in a safe space, especially if it helps others.
That last bullet is why I do this work. I’ve learned to take my painful experiences and turn them into something powerful!
The healing begins when you finally realize it wasn’t your fault and take the steps to get the help you need.
A Better Beginning
When we protect the mental health of mothers, we protect the nervous systems of babies.
When we make birth more human-centered, more trauma-informed, and more connected, we interrupt cycles of trauma before they start.
This is the beginning of generational healing.
Let’s Keep the Conversation Going!
If this article resonated with you:
- Share this newsletter with a doula, OB, or new mom you know
- Contact me to discuss trauma-informed care training for your staff
- Visit BethTyson.com to access more healing-centered tools and guidance
Together, we can turn PTSD Awareness Month into a movement for prevention, dignity, and hope for birthing families.
If you are looking for a trauma-informed community, please join us in my private Facebook Group, The Trauma Toolkit.
With compassion and hope,
Beth
References
Ayers, S., Wright, D. B., & Thornton, A. (2016). Development of a measure of postpartum PTSD: The City Birth Trauma Scale. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 7, 217. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2016.00217
Beck, C. T., Driscoll, J. W., & Watson, S. (2021). Traumatic Childbirth. Springer Publishing Company.
Dekel, S., Stuebe, C., & Dishy, G. (2017). Childbirth induced posttraumatic stress syndrome: A systematic review of prevalence and risk factors. Frontiers in Psychology, 8, 560. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00560
Grienenberger, J. F., Kelly, K., & Slade, A. (2005). Maternal reflective functioning, mother-infant affective communication, and infant attachment: Exploring the link between mental states and observed caregiving behavior. Attachment & Human Development, 7(3), 299–311.
Yildiz, P. D., Ayers, S., & Phillips, L. (2017). The prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder in pregnancy and after birth: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Affective Disorders, 208, 634–645.
