Four tips to prevent birth trauma for birth trauma awareness week
Can we prevent birth trauma?
Perhaps not completely, but we can lessen the blow. I have an acronym I’ve come up with to teach 4 tools that can help. These are the things that helped me to not develop full blown PTSD after my own births. The word to remember is “FINE”
1️⃣ F for future focussed. In any traumatic situation, if you can affirm “I’m going to get through this”, “it will be over soon” and phrases that activate the dorsolateral cortex, this will help. Getting stuck in the loop of “I can’t, I’m going to die” type thinking tends to result in poorer coping later.
2️⃣ I for integrate the story. Your brain wants a beginning, middle & end. You don’t have to remember everything - just put the details into a simple sequence
3️⃣ N for newborn smell. Even if you feel nothing, sniff & kids that new baby. MRI research shows oxytocin is released which helps settle your nervous system
4️⃣ E for engage support. Preferably holistic support that treats trauma as a nervous system event that impacts mind and body. I’m all for talk therapy but I also think there’s loads more - emdr, Chinese medicine, somatic experiencing, eft, pelvic bowl care & other approaches
Yes, our birth systems need improving. Trauma doesn’t come down to something you did or didn’t do, so please don’t read this as me trying to simplify it.