You may have spent 9 months thinking about what your delivery would be like and how you wanted to enjoy that day ... But then nothing was how you thought it would be. If this happens to you, you may even feel guilty about what happened and that you are having a bad time.
In principle, childbirth has to be a joyous event, but it does not always unfold as we think it will happen. This can cause disappointment and anguish in former mothers, and some may even have a diagnosis of postpartum post-traumatic stress disorder.
More likely for postpartum depression
When labor has not been good, a new mother may be more likely to have postpartum depression. This can alter your relationship with the baby and this can affect the development of the little ones. The relationship between the woman and her partner can also be harmed and everything accumulates so that the woman feels worse and worse.
Women may feel that their delivery is negative if they have had to have a cesarean section and they did not want to or if they have had an instrumental delivery (use of instruments to help the baby to be born, such as the use of forceps). Even couples can also feel very anxious when things are not going well in childbirth.
After a complicated delivery, the fear of something similar happening in the future also makes women not want to have more children or delay other pregnancies, only until they feel ready to have more deliveries. There are even women who avoid having their children in hospitals and prefer to have them at home just because of the fear associated with a birth attended by medical professionals, but in fact, they are the best trained to help a pregnant woman in labor.
When not everything goes as expected
All women when they are pregnant think about having a normal vaginal delivery as quickly as possible, because giving birth is suffering. Many of them want a delivery without pain relief and without medical intervention, that is, as natural as possible. But this is not the case in all cases, especially if it is the first baby. When the expectations of a childbirth do not coincide with reality, women can even feel guilty for what happened, but they are not to blame for anything.
Women cannot control the position of the baby or the possible complications that may occur. During pregnancy and childbirth, blood pressure increases and even during pregnancy there may be diabetes, factors that will require greater medical control and sometimes, interventions such as an emergency cesarean section as in cases of pregnant women with pre-eclampsia or eclampsia.
There are times when it may be the fault of the doctors and other times the outcome of the birth could not have been changed in any way, because it is necessary to prioritize the life of the mother and the baby. But this does not exempt a woman from feeling bad and even having a trauma from what happened in the pregnancy. If you have felt bad after your delivery, you need to talk about it and if necessary seek help from a psychology professional to give you the necessary tools to be able to feel good again and balance your emotions.
Mental illness from postpartum trauma
There is a small proportion of. Women who may feel trauma after childbirth and may need a diagnosis to find out what is happening to them, such as a diagnosis for postpartum PTSD.
This disorder creates persistent, involuntary, and intrusive memories, distressing dreams, and dissociative reactions after a traumatic event. A mother with this disorder may experience prolonged or intense psychological distress after delivery. This disorder affects almost 2% of women who give birth, according to some research. There are even risk factors that can cause a woman to have this disorder, such as: having a history of previous trauma, having suffered sexual abuse or domestic violence; complications during pregnancy, birth, or with the baby (such as the baby needing to be resuscitated); poor or abusive care; and lack of support.
Reduce the chances of a bad experience
To reduce the chance of having a bad birth experience, you need to prepare for it in a positive way. Have your birth plan to know what can happen, how you want it and be aware before it happens of how your delivery can go. The birth plan can also help you make your wishes easy to the hospital about how you want this important moment to be. You can make it clear who you want to be by your side, the positions in which you would like to give birth, have the possibility of a water birth and what that entails, etc.
You also need to be flexible and above all aware that a birth plan does not always go as you wish, but remember that it is also important to know that doctors must respect your wishes as much as possible.
There is research showing how acupressure, breathing techniques, massage or vocalization during labor diminish medical interventions, because women feel the labor more positively and are thus more satisfied with the experience.
Do not be afraid
It is necessary that a woman does not feel fear of childbirth, for that, it is necessary to accept that medical intervention may or may not be required, but that if it is required, you should not feel negative at any time. It is necessary for women to develop confidence in themselves, doctors should be kind and respectful at all times.
Feel free to ask the questions you need, to talk about any concerns you have and above all, do not be afraid to bring your baby into the world. Think that it will be the most wonderful experience of your life because the result will be, to be able to hug your baby and enjoy your motherhood.