Traumatic Childbirth

Postpartum depression has become a more recognized mental illness over the past decade as a result of education and increased awareness. Traumatic childbirth, however, is still often overlooked, resulting in a scarcity of information for health professionals. This is in spite of up to 34% of new mothers reporting experiencing a traumatic childbirth and prevalence rates rising for high risk mothers, such as those who experience stillbirth or who had very low birth weight infants.

This ground-breaking book brings together an academic, a clinician and a birth trauma activist. Each chapter discusses current research, women''s stories, the common themes in the stories and the implications of these for practice, clinical case studies and a clinician''s insights and recommendations for care. Topics covered include: mothers'' perspectives, fathers'' perspectives, the impact on breastfeeding, the impact on subsequent births, PTSD after childbirth and EMDR treatment for PTSD.

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