19/07/2025
Some mothers come out of birth feeling strong and filled with joy.
Others are changed in ways they never expected.
My birth was nothing like I had imagined.
It was full of intervention. It felt messy.
I had very little control over what was happening to me.
After birth, I had to hand my baby to my partner.
I couldn’t hold him. I felt weak.
I needed a few minutes to process everything that had just happened.
Even now, thinking about that moment brings sadness.
But I’m grateful my partner was there by my side, and my student midwife too.
You can have a "healthy baby" and still feel shattered. You can have a textbook birth and still feel violated or dismissed. It doesn't have to start or end in an emergency to be deeply impactful.
Birth trauma is a physiological response to a situation that felt overwhelming, unsafe, our out of your control. It stays with so many of us — in our minds, our bodies, our relationships, and in the stories we don’t always feel safe to tell.
Birth Trauma Awareness Week is held each year to help people understand that birth can cause physical and/or emotional trauma — and to highlight the need for better funding, care and support.
💛 If you’d like to share your story, my DMs are always open.
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