New parents who've experience traumatic birth urged to get support
We're hearing about the support available for new Mums and Dads in North Yorkshire
There are fresh calls for parents in North Yorkshire who've been through a traumatic birth not to suffer in silence.
All this week we've been shining a light on the often taboo subject.
Sallie Ward is the Lead Midwife for the Local Maternity System in North Yorkshire.
They run a service called "birth reflections" - where new parents can be referred on for physical or mental support - and get a debrief on the birth:
"We know for some women that birth isn't everything that they expected it to be. It's not always a positive experience. So what we've done is produced a birth reflection service that runs across all the four trusts in our our area in our organisation, and basically it's a form that women can self refer themselves into and their partners as well, or their significant other that was present at the birth."
"That form gives us a piece of information about what it is that's bothering them, how they feel, what happened at the birth, something what they feel they can help us with. So we look at that form, we have someone that triages it, we might be able to sign post immediately to the mental health service. They might have physical issues like pelvic health problems, so we refer them to that service, or get them some peer support."
"We can then organise a debrief appointment with a doctor or a midwife, depending on what the information was. That can be at a hospital setting or if they prefer it over the telephone or Teams we can do that as well. We also make sure that we support whoever was with them at the birth if they want that support as well, and then we can often resolve issues. Sometimes people are planning the next pregnancy, so they want that information so that they feel more prepared for that pregnancy. So lots of information and lots of ways that we can support families or signpost them to other services and people that are out there."
"It is very important that we chat to people, we don't want people to carry trauma because that can affect them in later life. If people are planning to have further children as well, we don't want them to come into our service feeling frightened or worried that something's going to happen again.
What is birth trauma?
Her experience echoes that of thousands of women each year, who come away from childbirth having gone through trauma.
Each case can be very different. Some reflect very long or very short labours, others are about physical issues while some are to do with thoughts and emotions.
Some birth trauma can be about concerns for baby's health, while others are about issues with the level of care on offer to mums at the time.
Around one in 20 new mums will develop PTSD as a result of their experience, and around 1% of birth partners also develop issues as a result of what they've witnessed from a bedside.
Where to get support if you're affected by birth trauma
If you've been impacted by birth trauma, and want to see what help is out there, the Birth Trauma Association has email support and a helpline you can call. They can also provide access to a private Facebook group.
Bliss offers support for people affected by sick or premature babies.
And there's more information about birth trauma, and further links to support via Make Birth Better.
If you want to find mental health services where you are, visit the Hub of Hope.