The birth of your baby is suppose to be a joyful time and for many women it is, however for some women the experience can result in mixed or negative emotions. Sometimes there may also be a physical injury as a result from the birth. 

Birth trauma is distress or physical injury experienced by women during or after giving birth. Distress can be emotional or psychological and physical injury can include perineal injury, pelvic floor muscle injury, sexual discomfort post birth, prolapse, caesarean wound complications.

Birth Trauma is a significant issue that affects around 1 in 3 women who give birth. Birth trauma can have long-lasting effects on a woman's mental health and wellbeing, and it is important to raise awareness of this issue and provide support for those who are affected.
Birth trauma can include: difficult or traumatic childbirth experiences, unexpected outcomes, a feeling of inadequate support from healthcare providers, or simply the experience itself. Women who have experience birth trauma may feel a sense of loss of control, fear, anxiety, depression, guilt, shame, and anger. Stigma, isolation and lack of understanding can make these feelings worse. 
It is important to recognise that birth trauma can occur regardless of whether the birth was a vaginal or a cesarean birth. Trauma can occur during any stage of, labor or birth, including before, during, or after. Some common triggers of birth trauma include prolonged labor, medical complications, emergency procedures, feelings of abandonment or neglect by healthcare providers, or feelings of coercion into things that you really didn't want, feelings of disempowerment, a lack of support and understanding for your wishes during labour and birth, or simply just the labour and birth process itself even if it all went well. It is, important to acknowledge that psychological distress as a result from birth is how the woman perceives her birth, not how anyone else thinks the birth went. 

For women who have experienced birth trauma, seeking support and treatment is essential. It is important to talk to a healthcare provider or mental health professional about your, experiences and feelings. Therapy and counseling can help women process their emotions and develop coping strategies to manage their symptoms.

There are also a number of strategies that women can use to manage their symptoms of birth trauma. These may include seeking out support groups, practicing self-care activities, and engaging in mindfulness exercises. It is important for women to prioritise their mental health and wellbeing, during this time and to seek out resources and support to help them navigate their feelings.

I am currently finishing my Masters in Counselling and will specifically be looking to treat women for birth trauma, postnatal depression, antenatal depression and anxiety, and pregnancy loss and grief. 

Birth trauma is a significant issue that unfortunately affects many women who have given birth in Australia. It is important, to raise awareness of this issue, break the silence, and provide support and resources for those who are affected. By having the conversation, we can help women to heal from their experiences of birth trauma and move forward with hope and resilience.

Some useful links:
https://birthtrauma.org.au/what-is-birth-trauma/

https://www.lifeline.org.au/

https://www.https://forwhenhelpline.org.au/

https://panda.org.au/articles/childbirth-trauma-and-recovery

​Luv Axx
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​Hypnobirthing is not as hippie as it sounds. It is an educational program that prepares couples for a positive birth experience no matter how or where they choose to birth. Hypnobirthing Australia is founded and owned by a Gold Coast woman, Melissa Spilsted. Melissa has put so much time and energy into her hypnobirthing program - the Positive Birth Program - that as a registered midwife, I can honestly say the educational material is 100% in line with the current research and evidence in relation to maternity care in Australia. I am proud to be affiliated with Hypnobirthing Australia.

The Positive Birth Program is the natural approach to childbirth! The program prepares you with the knowledge, confidence and tools you need to birth calmly. Birth can and should be, a positive experience – one that you will always want to remember.

Hypnobirthing classes in Brisbane are facilitated by hypnobirthing practitioners who have been trained under Melissa to take you through the Positive Birth Program. Each practitioner facilitates the same program and are scattered throughout Brisbane, making it easy for you as the consumer to access the program. The Positive Birth Program is facilitated over 12 hours and comes with your own unique workbook which includes a "Cheat Sheet" for partner, guides on acupressure points useful in labour, hypnotic scripts, positions for labour and much more. In addition to this the Positive Birth Program comes complete with access to an app which contains MP3 playlists, birth videos and more. The amount of value in this package is amazing. As a registered midwife myself, having taught antenatal classes most of my career, I can honestly say this program is awesome. So is it worth paying for hypnobirthing, its a 150% YES from me.

Life has a tendency to take you in different directions. Sometimes the path that you are following will come to a fork and decisions need to be made as to which direction you should go. These decisions can sometimes be easy to make and at other times require careful consideration. Being a Capricorn control freak myself many of my choices in life have taken much deliberation. What I have learnt along the way is that my gut feeling / intuition has never been wrong. Choosing the “right” path doesn’t always mean it will be the easiest path as sometimes there are valuable lessons to learn along the way. I am a believer in achieving great personal growth through difficult times as it is often these times that challenge us and provide opportunity for self-development to occur.

My life has defiantly taken a huge deviation from where I had seen myself going only just 5 years ago. Back then I was happily married with 3 kids, working in a maternity unit and emergency department, running my own café in a small rural town in NSW. Fast forward 5 years and I am now single living in a rural costal town, starting my own business in midwifery care and photography and for the first time in my life truly discovering who I am as a person. Through much self reflection and self development I can now say I am probably the happiest I have ever been. I am so grateful for my past and I wouldn’t change a thing. Together with my husband we able to give our children a wonderful upbringing on large sheep and cattle properties, the true farm life experience.
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So now a new direction in my life feels like a whole new beginning. The same type of feelings I felt when I fell pregnant with my first child. The excitement, feeling nervous and questioning myself as a person.  Am I going to be a good enough mother, am I going to be able to provide enough for my child, am I doing all the right things in taking care of myself during this pregnancy, what cot to buy, what pram, what are the SIDS recommendations on nursery furniture and temperature, should I buy a bassinet instead, why haven’t I felt my baby move yet when next door felt her baby move for the first time 3 weeks ago, am I too big, too small, what can I eat, what can’t I eat, do I take folate or should I just take a multivitamin, do I see a midwife or an obstetrician and the list goes on. So many decisions to make, so many thoughts run through your mind, yet trying to remember where the laundry detergent got placed after shopping this morning seems a massive challenge.

Parenthood is often the beginning of a whole new chapter in someone’s life and filled with excitement and nervousness at the same time. These feelings are normal and with the bombardment of information and well-meaning advise from your great aunt there is no doubt you may be feeling a little over whelmed. Midwifery care will support and guide you through this new journey into parenthood and provide you with information that is current and evidenced based. Midwifery care is the development of a very unique and special relationship between a woman and a Byron Bay midwife and one that supports and guides you along your journey. This journey that symbolises a new beginning for you and your family.

Lots of Love Astrid - Mother Earth Birthing Byron Bay, Midwife Byron Bay, Doula Byron Bay, Hypnobirthing Byron Bay

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