10 Self Care Tips to Recuperate After a Traumatic Birth

When a birth is particularly traumatic for the mother, the recovery process can prove to be incredibly difficult, which is why it’s important to take some time to focus on self-care! No two birthing experiences are ever going to be the same. While some people are fortunate enough to breeze through the process with little more than a few extra stretch marks, others may be forced to go through a very traumatic experience.

10 Self Care Tips to Recuperate After a Traumatic Birth
[image: unsplash by christian bowen]

 

Recovering from a difficult birth is far from easy, with there being a number of different complications to worry about. Among these, injuries to mothers during childbirth can be surprisingly common. 

In this post, we’ll be taking a closer at how you can focus on self-care following a traumatic birth. This way, you can get back to your normal self after going through such a difficult and highly emotional experience. 

10 Self-Care Tips to Focus on Following a Traumatic Birth 

1. Never Place Any Blame on Yourself 

If you’ve been through a traumatic experience, then it’s completely natural to struggle with feelings of guilt, or a sense of failure. A difficult birth often leads mothers, and their partners for that matter, with a feeling that they somehow did something wrong for the birth to go awry. 

One of the most vital self-care tips you can start with following a traumatic birth is to focus on the fact that it wasn’t your fault. It’s a matter of fact that complications can arise during birth and you’re in no way responsible for them happening. Always have faith that you did the best you possibly could for both yourself and your baby. 

2. Don’t be Tempted to Compare Yourself to Others 

As we’ve touched on already, everybody has their own story when it comes to giving birth. What you need to remember is that comparing yourself to someone who has had a relatively easy birth isn’t going to be beneficial for your own recovery. 

Of course, it’s all very well saying that you should just forget about others – it’s a reasonable response given your circumstances. But, you should instead try to focus on your own experience and take away every positive you can. 

3. Don’t Hesitate to Reach Out to Loved Ones for Support 

Your loved ones are there for a reason. You’d want them to lean on you if they were going through a tough time, right? So, don’t hesitate to reach out to them for some extra support if you feel like you need it. 

You might need them to help you out with some practicalities, to give you some advice or simply to provide a shoulder to cry on. 

4. Talk to a Healthcare Professional 

If you’re finding it difficult to cope after a traumatic birth, either physically or mentally, then you should always consider speaking to a healthcare professional. They’ll be well placed to give you tailored advice and point you in the right direction when it comes to getting the specific support you need. 

You shouldn’t ever be afraid to speak to a healthcare professional for fear of being judged. Post-natal care is always a top priority for doctors, so you’ll always be given the support you need for your recovery. 

5. Speak to Your Employer 

The prospect of having to return to work after a traumatic birth can be an incredibly daunting one. For many mothers, maternity leave can come far too soon. 

If you don’t think that you’re going to be ready to return to work as soon as your maternity leave ends, then it’s sensible to speak to your employer about alternative arrangements. This could include taking additional holiday, or even unpaid leave, so you don’t have to deal with the added stress of your job. 

[image: unsplash by aditya romansa]

6. Don’t Rush to ‘Make Things Right’ 

Everybody reacts differently to a traumatic birth. Some women may see it as a sign that they don’t want to have any more children, while others may want to rush to have another baby so they can ‘make things right’. 

If you want to have more children, then there is absolutely nothing wrong with this. But, you need to be sure that you’re having another child because it’s what you and your partner want to do, not because it will somehow make up for your previous experience. 

7. Give Yourself Time to Get to Know Your Baby 

Struggling to connect with your baby after a traumatic birthing experience is common. After all, your baby is likely to have been the trigger for instigating the trauma you experienced and can be the reason for postpartum depression. 

In this sort of situation, you shouldn’t try to bury the feelings you have for your baby. Don’t feel guilty for feeling detached or having negative feelings. Instead, view these feelings within the context of your situation and give yourself plenty of time to naturally connect, as opposed to trying to force it. 

8. Understand the Details of What Happened 

Finding closure for a traumatic birthing experience isn’t easy, but you can go some way to achieving this by obtaining the details for what actually happened. This can help you to fill in the blanks, as well as giving you more reason to believe that the situation wasn’t in any way your fault. 

9. Use a Debriefing Service 

Many maternity wards will offer a debriefing service, designed to assist you after any sort of birth-related trauma. They can offer you trauma debriefing, counselling and therapy to help you cope. 

Only you can decide when you’re ready to go through the debriefing process. It may be days, weeks, months or even years after the birth. It may even be something you want to consider when you’re ready to have another baby. 

10. Focus on Your Physical Health 

It’s easy to forget that you also need to look after your physical health as well as your mental health after a traumatic birth experience. 

You’ll be helping your road to recovery if you eat well, get as much rest as you can and, when you feel ready to, get in some very light exercise. Of course, this can then help with your mental health! 

[image: unsplash by john looy]

Have You Gone Through a Traumatic Experience? 

In this post, we’ve gone through ten of the most important self-care tips you can use if you’ve gone through a traumatic birth experience. Hopefully, you can put these tips to good use, allowing you to move past a difficult chapter with confidence. 

Have you got any more tips for someone who might have been through a traumatic birth experience? Please leave them in the comments below so we can extend the discussion further! 

Please be advised that this article is for general informational purposes only, and should not be used as a substitute for advice from a trained medical professional. Be sure to consult a medical professional or healthcare provider if you’re seeking medical advice, diagnoses, or treatment. We are not liable for risks or issues associated with using or acting upon the information on this site.