What is Postpartum Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)?
Pregnancy is a time of expectation and dreams. The anticipation of your baby’s arrival is typically filled with excitement about the moment when you will finally get to hold your little one in your arms. When your pregnancy or birth doesn’t go as expected, you may find yourself struggling emotionally and mentally. While the birth of a baby is a natural thing that the female body was designed to do, it is an experience that is ripe with opportunity for things to not go as planned. When things don’t go as expected, it can be traumatic.
What is considered a trauma?
What is traumatic for one person may not be traumatic for another. You and your sister may go through very similar challenging birth experiences, but only one of you may feel that the birth was traumatic. If you find yourself struggling significantly with social interactions or not being able to function at work or perform other responsibilities, this could be the result of a trauma associated with your pregnancy or birth. You may be dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
What kinds of events can be traumatic?
As mentioned, a “trauma” can be subjective, but there are common events that can potentially be traumatic:
An emergency Cesarean section
Postpartum hemorrhaging
Premature birth
Stillbirth
An unexpected admission to the NICU
Delivery using forceps or vacuum extraction
Traumatic vaginal birth
Fetal anomaly diagnosis during pregnancy
Long labor
Failed pain medication or a poor response to anesthesia
If you experienced any of these events and find yourself continuing to struggle a month (or more) later, you may be experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder.
What are the symptoms of postpartum post-traumatic stress disorder?
After experiencing a traumatic birth event, you may experience the following symptoms:
Intrusions: Intrusions can look like having nightmares, experiencing distressing memories when you don’t want them, or having physical reactions in your body.
Avoidance: After a traumatic experience, you may work hard to put your emotions aside or feel emotionally numb. You may withdraw socially from others and experience apathy or denial.
Negative thoughts or mood: A traumatic event can lead to feelings of guilt, depression, and hopelessness. You may also have negative thoughts or a distorted sense of blaming yourself or other people.
Arousal: Experiencing trauma can create sleep disturbances and lead to feelings of aggression. They can also make it hard to concentrate and elicit a sense of hyper-vigilance.
If you’ve had a traumatic experience either in pregnancy, delivery, or the postpartum period and find yourself experiencing the symptoms above, postpartum post-traumatic stress disorder could be to blame.
What can you do if you are experiencing symptoms of postpartum PTSD?
Reach out to your support system. Whether it is your spouse, partner, family member, or friend, let someone close to you know that you are struggling. You may not know exactly what you need in terms of support, but it is important that you let them know that you may be struggling with postpartum PTSD so they can offer their own way of showing support for you during this time. Each person may have a different way of helping that may be just what you need.
Talk with your OB-GYN. Your doctor may want to rule out any health issues that could be contributing to your symptoms. Many maternal health physicians’ offices are connected to mental health providers who specialize in maternal mental health, and your doctor may be able to recommend a therapist for you to talk to.
Begin working with an online therapist. Working with a counselor or therapist who specializes in treating postpartum post-traumatic stress disorder can be extremely beneficial in helping you cope with your experience. After delivering a baby, it can be hard to make it into an office, which is why online counseling can be a good fit for postpartum women. Postpartum Support International has a directory of providers who all specialize in treating women in the postpartum phase. Searching their directory can help you find an online provider in your state who can help you begin to process and heal from your trauma.
Begin Online Therapy for Women with Anxiety in Louisiana, Hawaii, or Colorado:
Postpartum PTSD can be hard to overcome without support from a therapist who is trained in providing postpartum support. To move forward in your journey towards healing and begin online therapy, follow these steps:
Schedule your free, 15-minute consultation via phone or video call
Learn more about the ways I can help you in therapy
Begin the journey to finding relief from your anxiety so you can enjoy your life again!
Online Mental Health Services Offered By Ashley Comegys, LCSW
In addition to therapy for postpartum depression and postpartum anxiety, I provide a variety of online mental health services to residents of Louisiana, Colorado, and Hawaii. These include individual counseling for women, anxiety counseling, depression treatment, counseling for mothers, counseling for military spouses, and counseling for women who have survived trauma.
*Please note, as a licensed social worker, I am only able to see clients who are physically located in Hawaii, Louisiana, and Colorado.