Hope and support for Birth Trauma & Perinatal PTSD
This is Joanna’s deeply moving story of her traumatic birth and shows how important it is that women are listened to and treated with dignity and respect. Please be aware that some stories may trigger difficult memories and emotions so
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I sat in the psychiatrist’s room, the light shining on my back, warming my tired bones. I had lost hope, hope that anyone could hear me, or know what was clawing at my soul. I finished my story, my years
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“Help me, it’s like the walls are caving in.Sometimes I feel like giving up.But I just can’t.It isn’t in my blood.” Shawn Mendes “Laying on the bathroom floor, feeling nothing.I’m overwhelmed and insecure, give me something,I could take to ease
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My daughter was standing right next to me, her cheeks rosy from the cold wind blowing across the pond. Her tiny hands clutch tightly small pieces of bread, ready to throw to the very eagerly awaiting ducks, she’s happy, and
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It’s hard to talk about birth trauma, but even harder to talk about suicide. Yet I know from the women who contact me and my own experience that dealing day in, and day out, with the impact of a traumatic
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I sat in the chair feeling numb, was I really in denial? I didn’t think I was, but then I wasn’t the expert. The Community psychiatric nurse (CPN) in front of me wore an expression mixed with pity and frustration.
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I feel worried. Worried, because there seems to be somewhat of a perinatal bandwagon lately. Wherever you look, there are articles, stories being shared and people discussing perinatal mental health, it’s loud, in your face, singing and dancing. This is
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You know the ones I mean. You have seen them. The all singing websites and the glossy leaflets. You scroll down and see smiling, happy faces and the testimonies that pull at your heart. Then there are the promises, the
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‘May your story be a page in someone else’s survival guide’ The years have passed but the memories are etched on my mind. There are certain things you can’t erase, forever burnt into the recesses of your mind, scars that
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For any family, emotional well-being matters. When it comes to mental health the perinatal period can be a challenging time. Adjusting to life with a new baby is hard, but for some families, the transition to parenthood is complicated by
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I remember when I was a child, I had a beautiful doll that cried real tears, and when you fed her a bottle she wet her nappy…I thought she was amazing! When we are little we play mommies and daddies
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When people think about post-traumatic stress (PTSD) they often think of a soldier, returning from battle traumatised and battered by the ravages of war and the terrible things seen and experienced. However, PTSD doesn’t only affect those affected in the
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They say that blood is thicker than water when it comes to relationships, but sometimes the support that we need doesn’t always come from the places and the people we expect, namely those that we love, but instead from those
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They say the road to recovery can be a long one and I know the true meaning of those words, often the road is long and bumpy, you can take a few wrong turns and even be directed the wrong
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I’m recovered…….mostly. Now and then however PTSD likes to give me reminder that it is still with me lying dormant, like a monster that tries to awake and again take me hostage. Sometimes it rears its head, waking from its
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Today is World Mental Health Day. Many people are sharing their stories about the reality of living with mental health. Why is this important? Because by sharing our stories and uniting our voices we can be the change needed to
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We sometimes go through things in life that completely change us as a person. Sometimes it changes things for the better, sometimes the worst and sometimes it’s both! For me this is certainly true, when I had my first daughter
Read moreI wipe the dust from the top of the flowery box. It had to happen, the bringing out of the baby photos to groans of embarrassment from my daughter, to the delight of her new boyfriend. The pictures laid out
Read moreDear You I know You don’t remember me. I am but one face You have cared for over many springs, summers, autumns and winters, just a number on a wristband, one of many that graced your path. But you see
Read moreEveryday I sit with another woman. The pain is etched across her face, tears fall from red swollen eyes and words tumble, revealing the trauma that is leaving its mark. Birth trauma is in many ways finally be recognised, more
Read moreMy hands burned, my arms heavy and painful. I stop and try to catch my breath. My heart pounding. I close my eyes I can do this, my baby needs me and so I grabbed again the wheels of my
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This is Amanda’s story of how EMDR provided the support she needed to start her journey to healing from Birth Trauma Please be aware that some stories may trigger difficult memories and emotions so remember your own self-care as everyone
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The moving story of Kerry and her traumatic birth but how she now helps others to feel less alone. Please be aware that some stories may trigger difficult memories and emotions so remember your own self-care as everyone will be
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This is the story of Ruth and Cait. Please be aware that some stories may trigger difficult memories and emotions so remember your own self-care as everyone will be at different stages of healing. If you wish to contribute a
Read more“Awareness is like the sun, when it shines on things they are transformed” Emma Jane Sasaru Despite maternal mental health being more in the news and on the national agenda perinatal mental health being addressed, when it comes to the
Read more“Let your scars become wings that carry you out of the darkness and into the glorious light” Emma Jane Cushnan u The birth of my first daughter changed my life, it changed me. As the lights passed above me as
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Madeleine’s beautiful poem about the birth of her son. Finding you Sleep disturbed, the waters broke, It was still in that moment, You were on your way, A bag bursting, An empty car seat, flip-flops, an old nightdress, Hurried
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This story is from Julie who wanted to share her story about her experience of having birth trauma and PTSD, how it impacted her mental wellbeing, how therapy has helped her overcome PTSD and how she now helps others.
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This story is from brave Lucy, who wanted to share her story about her experience of having a difficult birth with her baby and how it impacted her emotional well-being. Please be aware that some stories may trigger difficult memories
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This story is from a lovely Karina, who’s sharing her story for the first time in 5 years—what she survived and what’s helping her heal. Please be aware that some stories may trigger difficult memories and emotions so remember your
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