When you look at the probability of trauma in the course of a woman’s life, the statistics are high. One in three will experience sexual abuse in her lifetime, one if four will perceive her birth as traumatic. So, if you’re a childbirth or postpartum professional you are regularly working with women who have experienced trauma. And keep in mind; a woman who has previous trauma or a history of abuse has a much higher chance of being triggered in birth and experiencing trauma again.
What is birth trauma? It’s all about perception. When a woman perceives her birth as traumatic, she has felt one or more of the following in an intense and damaging way:

• Complete loss of control
• Totally helpless in the face of defending herself or her baby
• Victimized by an authority figure; emotionally and/or physically
• Abandoned
• Disrespected

Birth trauma will have immediate effects on a woman and change her experience of birth, postpartum and motherhood. As birth professionals, our goals are to prevent birth trauma by providing support, information and guidance for laboring Mamas. Some of the things you can do during your time together are build trust, tune in to Mom’s behaviors to establish safety in the labor room, and speak to her in a calm, affirming voice. But unfortunately, we can’t always prevent birth trauma.
Women who have experienced a traumatic birth can develop PTSD (posttraumatic stress disorder). It can be misdiagnosed as postpartum depression or anxiety but the symptoms are actually different. Some signs of PTSD in a new mother are:

• Lack of a strong bond to baby, not holding or responding to her baby
• Extreme irritability, anger and blame
• Obsessing over the events of the birth; may include flashbacks or nightmares
• Uncontrollable crying, intrusive thoughts and fear
• Avoiding doctor’s appointments, seeing family or scheduling to see you for follow up

There are some important things to keep in mind when dealing with a Mom who has birth trauma. Your support will be critical to establishing safety, support and eventually healing from this difficult time.
Here are some things you can do to support a Mom with trauma:

• Create a calm environment and speak in a calm, steady voice. Use her name when speaking to her as it will bring her attention to your voice. Give positive, truthful and affirming statements.
• Normalize her response to her birth. Confirm that her response is normal for someone experiencing an overwhelming amount of stress. Say things like, “That would be upsetting to anyone.” “You’re crying because that’s how people react when they feel angry or frightened.” Don’t place blame or contribute to her feelings by becoming angry yourself.
• Be a witness for her. This is the true gift of a doula. The human brain translates acknowledgement, support and connection as SAFETY. Help her establish safety in these important weeks after birth.
• Affirm that something bad has happened. In a loving way say things like, “I’m sorry this happened.” “You didn’t deserve that.” “It’s not your fault.” “You’re safe now.” Again, don’t fuel her anger or powerlessness by engaging in blaming, criticizing or attacking other parties who were involved.Restore a sense of control, power and self-efficacy. Continue to respect her choices, assure her that she is “in the driver’s seat” and she gets to determine her next steps. Let her make decisions and don’t tell her what she should do.

The exciting and encouraging thing to hope for is what’s called post traumatic growth. With proper self-care, nutrition, sleep, and exercise she will begin to feel better. Suggest to her that some women find healing through yoga, body work, trauma therapy and groups. Post traumatic growth provides women the opportunity to heal from trauma and become stronger, wiser and more compassionate because of it. With adequate support, education and care new Moms can fall in love with their babies and leave the shame and pain of trauma behind.

By Abby Bordner, Doula & Parent Educator

 For first time families birthing in the hospital or birth center, what to bring with you can be yet another unknown. Here’s a list that will cover all your bases- the essentials and the ‘nice to haves’ too. It’s not only important to bring the right clothes but to include your labor support tools and healing remedies for after baby is born too!
I always recommend that parents pack a couple smaller bags so you don’t need to bring in a huge suitcase as you arrive i.e one bag for mom (including labor tools), one for partner & baby which can come in later.
Essentials:

• Insurance info, hospital forms and your Birth Plan (if you have one)
• Dark colored nighty or T-shirt to wear in labor. It will probably get a bit messy, so don't buy anything special to wear in hospital (or use the hospital gowns)
• Sports bra (can be nice to labor in)
• 2 nursing tanks or nursing bras to wear after birth
• Lip balm (all that breathing can dry out your lips)
• Toiletries and personal items — hairbrush, toothbrush, toothpaste, deodorant, face wash, shampoo & conditioner, lotion, contact supplies (travel size are great).
• Sensible Underwear- dark colored, briefs – no thongs! (the hospital will often provide disposable pairs which is another option)
• Cell phone and charger, phone numbers of people to call after birth
• Camera, film or extra memory card, battery or charger or just your phoneJ
• Maternity pads (the hospital supplies some but they are often surf board variety and many don’t have wings)
• Socks or slippers ( if you run cold)
• Rescue Remedy- a flower essence that helps with trauma and recovery- safe for the whole family

Nice-to- have items:

• Extra pillow
• Bath robe
• Headband or hair ties, Hairdryer
• Comfortable clothes for going home (maternity size and flat shoes)
• Arnica (homeopathic) arnica reduces bruising, aids in recovery and helps the body through the healing process (there is cream also but don't apply the cream to broken skin i.e. perineal tear).

For Partner & Baby:

• A gym bag packed with a change of clothes and basic hygiene products for your partner
• Think camping: sleeping bag/pad, pillow or even blow up mattress with bedding (optional, see the size of your room before deciding to bring it in)
• Car seat for baby
• A coming-home outfit for baby
• Socks or booties.
• Baby hat ( hat is for going home, keep baby’s head uncovered while snuggling it’s great for bonding)
• Warm blankets (for the ride home, seasonal obviously)

 
Optional Labor Tools (See Your Labor Tool Check List)

• Hard candy, mints or lozenges to keep your mouth moist during labor
• Water bottle
• Electrolyte drinks: Emergen-C, Recharge, coconut water, Gatorade/Powerade
• Snacks for partner: easy cook noodles, protein bars, nuts
• Music/playlists
• Lighting- LED candles or fairy lights
• Comfort tools: massage tool, tennis ball (back pressure), rebozo, heating pad, or any inspirational objects to be used as your focal points

 
 If you can think of other things to add to this list, let us know! What worked for you.. your tips might help another family!

Blog by Shabd Simran Adeniji, Owner of The Birthing Tree

 When Jane from the new hit TV comedy was told her baby was in a breech position (head up, bottom down), her OB-GYN warned that she could be at risk for a cesarean section. Jane the Virgin Jane got the baby to turn with an Oriental medicine technique called moxibustion, in which dried mugwort herb is burned indirectly over acupuncture points. As the show’s narrator said, “Google it! It’s a real thing.” Moxabustion was a great dramatic tool for the TV show. That night, the baby turned but Jane fell asleep while using the moxibustion and her ottoman caught fire. Before trying this at home, I would say seek a professional! For most Americans, acupuncture and Oriental medicine for pregnancy and birth is the next big discovery waiting to happen — a treasure trove of help for the common challenges of pregnancy.

Licensed practitioners of acupuncture and herbal medicine can help decrease stress and anxiety, calm nausea, treat sciatic pain, and improve sleep and energy. Some practitioners are trained to prevent the transfer of parental toxins to the fetus, which are reputed to decrease the risk of childhood epidemics and environmental toxins. For these treatments, visits at the end of each trimester are essential.

Preventing miscarriage is another strength of acupuncture and Oriental medicine. Western medicine has limited treatments for threatened miscarriage. Common treatments include blood thinners such as heparin or aspirin and the hormone progesterone. Since the medical options are so limited, most doctors try what they can, while they are resigned to wait to see what happens. Oriental medicine, on the other hand, has a different framework that allows us to diagnose specific patterns of an underlying cause and treat them, ideally even before  the risk fully manifests as bleeding, blood clots or dilated cervix.

Even less known is its excellent ability to forecast and decrease risk of complicating factors such as preeclampsia, low amniotic fluids or delayed labor — all of which may endanger the fetus and require medical interventions. Even if a pregnancy has been uneventful, visiting an acupuncture and Oriental medicine practitioner at the beginning of the third trimester, at minimum, is wise. We will diagnose constitutional tendencies and potential risks. We will treat to encourage vitality and a smooth, harmonious pregnancy, birth and postpartum experience.

Acupuncture lowers perceived levels of stress, according to a 2010 study. Imagine how much acupuncture would have helped Jane download all the stressful events in her pregnancy — two breakups, her grandmother’s near death, two new jobs, a crime syndicate and a murder, meeting her father for the first time and unexpected motherhood, and single motherhood at that. Even if most pregnant women don’t have a life based on a telenovela, we all manage stress in our lives. Stress is dangerous for mother and baby, because it can raise blood pressure to dangerous levels and increase risk of premature birth or low birthweight babies, according to a 2006 March of Dimes study. The season finale of showed Jane’s baby being kidnapped only hours after her birth. With this unimaginable stress, the next season may show Jane going through a severe postpartum depression. Jane the Virgin Although Jane’s loss is hopefully rare in the real world, postpartum depression is not. It commonly affects 10-15 percent of new mothers, and young mothers are more at risk, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Postpartum depression can be minimized with preventive support from acupuncture and Oriental medicine that lowers stress, stabilizes hormones, encourages milk production, stops bleeding and replenishes fluids, blood and energy. Every pregnant woman deserves good pre- and postnatal support. Acupuncture and Oriental medicine can provide a critical complement to Western medical obstetrics.

Hang on, what is that bulge in my stomach? I thought to myself one night when I lifted my head while lying next to my 3 year-old-daughter as part of our normal bedtime routine. Of course, my belly was big - I was 7 months pregnant with #2.  But this was different.  I relaxed my head back down, and lifted one more time. There it went again. It looked like my still growing baby was a cone-shaped bulge in my belly – with a peak – like a hill peak vs. a mountain peak. To humor myself, I did it again of course.  
 
Too tired to search the internet for possible explanations – I used my excellent reasoning skills to give me reassurance: I am a smaller person; I gained 50+ pounds with my daughter; she was an unplanned c-section. My abdominal muscles must not be strong enough to hold this baby from protruding my midline when I do a crunch-like motion. It will go back into place after he’s born, I told myself.  And I am doing a really good job of moderating the weight gain this go around! I’m really good at self-reasoning. ​

​Congratulations on your pregnancy! The first weeks of pregnancy can be a mixed bag of emotions for many people. Whether your pregnancy is a surprise or it has been long awaited here are a few tips to support you through the first trimester.