Traumatic Birth Trauma

A constructive critique of the research into women’s experiences of becoming a mother after prolonged labour.

In different studies such as Elsevier Editorial System (tm) for Midwifery Manuscript Draft by Rhonda Joy Boorman has shown that recent research in Australia found that 45.5% of women birthing are seemingly to report childbearing as traumatic (Alcorn et al., 2010), resulting in a projected 135,000 Australian women annually self-rating parturition as traumatic. Experiencing a traumatic birth could negatively impact on a woman's emotional

The postpartum period is about going through change and transition from a woman to a new mother. This is a time where mothers restore muscle tone and connective tissue in the body after the birth of the baby. Although there is a dramatic change during the postpartum period, women’s body is nonetheless not fully stored to pre-pregnant physiology until about 6 months post-delivery (Osailan, 6). At this time, women need to receive special health and social support to prevent problems such as postpartum depression. During this period, culture plays a major role in the way a woman perceives and prepares for her birthing experience. In fact, the notions of birth and postnatal care vary considerably with cultural beliefs and traditional practices. Each culture has its own values, beliefs and practices related to pregnancy and birth (Osailan,1). In the United States, after a short hospital stay, moms and babies are sent home because it is expected for mothers to heal within 42 days after giving birth. Whereas in other societies like Mexico, the postpartum recovery is active long enough until the new mother is fully healed (Brenhouse). In the article, “Why Are America’s Postpartum Practices So Rough on New Mothers?” by Hilary Brenhouse, the author states, “With these rituals comes an acknowledgment, familial and federal, that the woman needs relief more at this time than at any other—especially if she has a career to return to—and that it takes weeks, sometimes months, to properly

Injuries occurring during birth are denoted to as birth trauma or obstetrical injuries and they are associated with different etiological causes. The important causes of birth trauma are macrosomia, breech presentation, shoulder dystocia, and forceps-assisted deliveries [3]. Traumatizing maneuvers during the deliveries will result in these fractures in the assisted deliveries [4]. The trauma may occur due to use of forces, excessive traction or pulling, unintended pressure on soft organs such as eyes. Trauma to the limb usually occurs when the limb is pulled in cases of obstructed labor or shoulder dystocia (Head out, shoulder stuck). An Indian study on birth trauma revealed that the fractured clavicle was commonest bone fractured

At the end of the experiment, the author found that Dissociative experiences are possible during childbirth in particular symptoms. These symptoms include sensation of a change in the pace of time, not being aware of certain things that happened, and disorientation. Traumatic childbirth also impacted perinatal dissociation. Traumatic childbirth occurred when women feared for their lives and their baby’s lives, received news about some terrible obstetrical intervention or medical

Childhood trauma is one of the most common problems among people today around the world. For many, their childhood has led them down roads of deep depression, anger and even fear. While for some, they feel as though they have had a pretty normal childhood. Child abuse not only can affect their work relationships, but even their own relationships with spouses and children. The effects childhood trauma and abuse has on adults limit not only their workplace relationships and interpersonal relationships, but also their own relationship with themselves as they mature.

Sharon Salzberg once said, “As we look around, it's very clear that in this world people do outrageous things to one another all of the time. It's not that these qualities or actions make us bad people, but they bring tremendous suffering if we don't know how to work with them”. The wake of devastation abortion leaves behind could not be described better. It is argued that it is the woman’s body; therefore it is the woman’s choice. What many do not know, however, is that abortion not only affects the mother, but the father, and of course the child. Guilt, anger, anxiety, depression, broken relationships, “numbing”, and even suicide; all of these are symptoms of Post-Abortion Syndrome (PAS). PAS is the emotional/psychological damage women may experience after having an abortion. According to Dangers of Legal Abortion by Ann Saltenberger, women who have had abortions are nine times more likely to attempt suicide than women in the general population. Men, or the father, portray a range of emotions after their partner’s abortion. These include grief, guilt,

This level is more draining and longer lasting than the ‘blues’ and is characterized by hopelessness, tearfulness and more intense feelings of inadequacy, guilt, anxiety and fatigue (Postpartum, 2017). Women may experience physical symptoms such as headaches and rapid heart rate. Also, may feel the lack of feeling for the baby is of special concern (Postpartum, 2017). These symptoms can appear any time during the first few months to one year after the birth (Postpartum, 2017). Also, following childbirth, postpartum post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), is triggered by trauma during the time leading up to, during, and/ or shortly afterwards delivery. The trauma leads the women feeling that either her life or the life of her baby is at risk (Postpartum,

Does everybody think or feels the same about childbirth around the world? This question above is a question that has always been in my mind. Now that I got the opportunity of choosing a topic to do research. I decided to choose childbirth and culture. This research paper is going to talk about how different cultures and countries look a birth in an entirely different manner. Some look at birth as a battle and others as a struggle. And on some occasions, the pregnant mother could be known as unclean or in other places where the placenta is belief to be a guardian angel. These beliefs could be strange for us but for the culture in which this is being practiced is natural and a tradition. I am going to be introducing natural and c-section childbirth. And, the place of childbirth is going to be a topic in this essay. America is one country included in this research paper.

There has been a recent study that shows many complications after abortion. 62% Higher Risk of Death from All Causes, 2.5 Times Higher Risk of Suicide Compared to women who give birth, women who abort have an elevated risk of death from all causes, which persists for at least eight years. Higher risk of death from suicide and accidents were most prominent. Projected on the national population, this effect may contribute to 2,000 - 5,000 more deaths among women each year.1 Southern Medical Journal, 2002. 65% Suffered Trauma, 31% Had Health Complications In this study comparing American and Russian women who had experienced abortion, 65% of American women studied experienced multiple symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which they attributed to their abortions. Slightly over 14% reported all the symptoms necessary for a clinical diagnosis of abortion induced PTSD, and 84% said they did not receive adequate counseling. 31% had health complications afterwards.4 Medical Science Monitor Medical Science Monitor, 2004. Even though safe abortion is used throughout the world it has a high risk of having side effects on your

According to London et al. (2014), stillbirth is defined as the “death of a fetus or infant from the time of conception through the end of the newborn period 28 days after birth” (p. 481). In 2011, in the country of Taiwan, there were a total of 2,321 stillborn births and it was reported that 60% of the women who experienced this loss suffered from severe postpartum depression within 4 years (Tseng, Chen, & Wang, 2014, p. 219). Although it is known that the mothers of these infants suffer with traumatic stress, follow-ups after stillbirths are rare and there is no community support groups available. There is not much information available on the experience of Taiwanese women who experience a stillbirth nor is there information about the steps taken by these women to recover from their loss. Thus, this study seeks to understand the experiences of these Taiwanese women who have experienced the loss of an infant and how they cope within their society (Tseng et al., 2014, p. 219).

& Li, 2001). With the brain developing at its fastest rate in childhood, it is especially

Many women choosing to have an abortion are unaware of the psychological effects it will have on them. Many are affected for years or maybe even lifetime after the procedure. Abortion can affect each woman differently, some claim that abortion has negative effects on women’s mental health. Women have abortions for different reasons within different personal, social, economic, and cultural contexts. All of these may lead to variability in women’s psychological reactions following the abortion. This paper will focus on answering the following questions:

Challenges have varied throughout my life in both health complications and society itself. Early trauma has conflicted my mom for sometime whose brothers died in a horrendous drowning accident in 1979 . As life progressed and I came into the world, drug addiction and other illnesses manifested in our outside family, eventually making its way to my older sister. These events at a young age helped me understand reality faster than a normal person.

Since beginning the Early Childhood Trauma project little has not surprised me. When we first discussed the project and learned that the men volunteered to participate in this study due to personal desire I was shocked. Maybe it is due to my personal biases, but I would never expect these men, who have mainly negative experiences with institutions to participate in an institutionally based intervention project. The men volunteering for this project indicated that I should attempt to limit guiding my process by preconceived notions and instead be as partial as possible. My lack of understanding, misconceptions and absence of personal experience that relates to these topics no doubt is partially why I find the majority of the information surprising. However, the experience of our first meeting, which I am examining here, was surprising for a different set of reasons. There were several moments during our meeting with DeAndre, Luis, Angle, Junito and Ron I would classify as 'disorienting', and I will reflect and synthesize them in the following paper. They apply to atmosphere, unforeseen commonalities and knowledge,