5 Ways to Limit How Intense Your Postpartum PTSD Will Be

Your Guide to Preparing Postpartum Mental Health

• 4 symptom trackers each with an infographic
• 6+ videos to explain how to use each printable
• editable Postpartum Mood Tracker
• 3 bonus charts to help understand the difference in PMADs
• easy-to-use Postpartum Symptom Review quiz

My husband and I took hired a babysitter one afternoon so we could go stomp in front of the hospital I gave birth in.

Driving by it gave me so much anxiety. I struggled with PTSD after having my son, so the only thing to do (for me) was to stomp in front of it.

But can you really get PTSD from giving birth? Let’s dive into it.

Can you have postpartum PTSD from giving birth?

Postpartum PTSD after birth is more common than you’d think. This is mostly due to the fact that few moms are diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after childbirth. Some moms don’t know that they need to seek help for their mental health struggles, instead brushing it off as “that’s just what being a mom comes with”.

If a mom does want help, she often doesn’t know where to start. Who do you go to for postpartum PTSD? Who can help?

Start here with this free template of 53+ people to add to your Postpartum Support Team!

What counts as a traumatic birth?

Trauma is subjective. What defines a traumatic birth is whether or not a mom feels like it was traumatic.

Birth trauma can look like:

• A planned c-section
• An emergency c-section
• Medical intervention in a vaginal birth
• Unmedicated birth
• NICU stay
• A healthy baby
• A sudden and quick birth
• A birth progressing for days

In addition to the birthing experience, the next few days or the postpartum period can be traumatic. If a mom feels unsafe, unheard, scared, confused, helpless, guilty, or shocked at any time during labor, delivery, and postpartum, it absolutely counts as postpartum PTSD.

A dad or non-birthing partner can also see a birth as traumatic! There is a valid sensation of emotional suffering that comes with watching a loved one be in pain. It’s completely possible for a dad to experience birth trauma while the mom does not.

Why is childbirth so traumatic?

Childbirth serves as an intense time of change — emotionally, physically, and psychologically. While birth and motherhood can be a beautiful thing, it’s important to acknowledge the underside of being a new mom without any disclaimers or “but” statements.

It can feel:

• Shocking
• Sudden
• Disruptive
• Hopeless
• Like too much is changing at once

This is all normal to feel! Any feeling you experience is a valid one. Remember that, mama.

If your birth didn’t go as planned, if there was a medical emergency or any pain, or if you felt unheard or overlooked, you might view your birth as trauma.

What is postpartum post-traumatic stress disorder?

Postpartum post-traumatic stress disorder affects nearly 10% of new moms. We’ll go over the specific causes and symptoms of postpartum PTSD soon, but let’s set the foundation first.

This mental illness develops after perceived trauma surrounding a woman’s birth experience or the following postpartum days. It’s mainly characterized by an overwhelming sense of anxiety and frequent flashbacks or dreams about the experience, usually childbirth.

Related: 16 Symptoms of Postpartum Anxiety Every Mom Deserves to Know

I thought PTSD was for abuse victims or veterans

People commonly brush off PTSD as the struggle of war veterans or severe abuse victims, but there aren’t any restrictions to who can experience post-traumatic stress.

What makes an event traumatic is subjective to the person experiencing it. That’s why trauma can be any experience or event.

How common is PTSD after giving birth?

1 in 3 moms report their birth as being traumatic. That means 33% of moms are at risk for PTSD after childbirth!

While it’s shown that 10% of moms go on to develop postpartum post-traumatic stress disorder, these are still significant numbers to be looking at.

Related: The 5 Postpartum Struggles Everyone Should Know . . .

Risk factors for postpartum PTSD

There’s a large chance you won’t display any risk factors for postpartum PTSD. There’s no guarantee for how your birthing and postpartum experience will go. But there are a few factors to take into consideration:

• previous history of anxiety or depression
• history of infertility or pregnancy loss
• experience of a previous trauma

The risk factors before birth differ from what can cause postpartum post-traumatic stress disorder after birth. Causes that occur during delivery include:

• unplanned or emergency c-section
• medical interventions such as vacuum or forceps
• feeling unseen, unsupported, or powerless
• delivery complications like blood loss, hemorrhaging, preeclampsia, etc
• medical interventions on the baby or the baby going to the NICU
• stillbirth or unexpected loss

Coping with pregnancy or infant loss

Loss can be a huge contributing factor in women who develop postpartum post-traumatic stress disorder. It’s too significant a topic to discuss in depth here but check out: 6 Things To Know About Postpartum After Pregnancy Loss.

Symptoms of postpartum PTSD

People react to trauma differently because we ourselves are different. Our brains are wired differently, and trauma drastically affects the brain’s functioning. (Keep reading to learn more about how trauma affects our brain and other body parts!)

PTSD after childbirth might look like these symptoms, but it appears differently in each person. Remember that as you sort through these 4 symptoms

1. Constantly reliving the event 

With PTSD, a person re-experiences the traumatic event in an intrusive and consistent basis. A mom with PTSD is having her day-to-day life negatively affected by these experiences.

This can look like:

• Intrusive thoughts
• Nightmares
• Flashbacks

It almost feels like everything reminds you of it—as if you can’t escape the traumatic event.

2. Avoiding remembering the event

After my emergency c-section, we had three hours to snuggle our new baby before he was rushed through an underground tunnel to the NICU. For months, I couldn’t drive on the street the hospital sat on much less drive by the hospital.

People who experience trauma and have PTSD go out of their way to avoid remembering. They will avoid:

• Places
• People
• Songs or other media
• Thoughts
• Similar situations

3. Panic attacks or increased anxiety

PTSD comes with increased amounts of anxiety. You could be more at risk for postpartum anxiety if you also experienced anxiety during your pregnancy, but postpartum PTSD doesn’t discriminate.

Panic attacks are common during trigger points of PTSD, like after an intrusive thought or flashback.

With anxiety, you might be:

• Hypervigilant
• Irritable
• Unable to sleep

Related: You Might Have Postpartum Anxiety — Here’s How To Tell

4. Distant

A fourth symptom involves feeling distant. You might feel like you are floating or that you are disconnected from reality.

Disclosure: This article contains affiliate links, which means I will earn a commission—at no extra cost to you—if you make a purchase.

The Body Knows the Score

The Body Knows the Score by Bessel van der Kolk is a great book on understanding how trauma affects the mind and body, even if you don’t think it is.

Check it out here!

Postpartum PTSD VS Postpartum Depression

Before we discuss how to limit the intensity of postpartum post traumatic stress, let’s go through the differences between it and postpartum depression.

Postpartum PTSD is:

• Anxiety-based
• Feeling distant or disconnected from reality
• Consistently experiencing flashbacks or intrusive thoughts

Postpartum depression is:

• Sadness or despair
• An inability to think clearly or make decisions
• Experiencing some intrusive thoughts
• More common

Related: How Long Does Postpartum Depression Last?

Treatment for post traumatic stress after childbirth

1. Therapy

Therapy plays the most significant role in treatment postpartum PTSD. Common methods involve cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and eye-movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy (EMDR).

EMDR is commonly used to process trauma, but it’s not the method for everyone.

CBT allows moms to talk through the traumatic event, process what happened, and understand her own feelings about the event. It can be an eye-opening experience to understand why your mind and body are reacting the way they have been with PTSD symptoms.

If you are looking for a postpartum therapist, grab the free Postpartum Support Team template and get started!

2. Preparing for triggers

Therapy can help you with this, but preparing to be triggered can be a large step in overcoming postpartum post traumatic stress disorder.
With trauma, we’re going to be triggered. There are stimuli in our everyday lives that will remind us of the event. We can acknowledge this fact and work to prepare a plan for what we will do when we are triggered.

3. Medications

PTSD at a point needs medication to lower the symptoms enough for you to truly process and work through the traumatic event.

There’s a range of medications that are safe for breastfeeding mothers. If this is the route you need, know that it’s okay and that it’s safe!

What happens if PTSD goes untreated?

Without treatment, the symptoms will get worse. The effects of trauma are always there whether we acknowledge them or not, just as The Body Knows The Score expands on.

Untreated postpartum PTSD might lead to:

• Constant depression or anxiety
• Chronic pain
• Chronic stomach aches
• Substance abuse
• Insomnia

It’s important to treat postpartum PTSD as soon as possible.

There’s hope after postpartum post traumatic stress

If you’re a mama experiencing postpartum PTSD, first know you aren’t alone. I went through it too, and there’s other moms reading this post with you, searching for the same answers you are looking for.

PTSD after childbirth is treatable. You don’t have to feel this way forever.

Where are you in your journey of treating postpartum PTSD after birth? How can we help you in this? Let us know in the comments below!

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