Post Traumatic Birth Theory Essay

Words: 784
Pages: 4

The birth of a child is widely accepted to be a happy time, one of the happiest. This is true for most, but not all. Greenfield, Jomeen, & Glover proposed the definition of traumatic birth as “The emergence of a baby from the body of its mother, in a way which may or may not have caused physical injury. The mother finds either the events, injury or the care she received deeply distressing or disturbing. The distress is of an enduring nature” (2016). A traumatic birth is often the root cause of postpartum mental disorders.
With mental health becoming a more important issue (I don’t like this, need a better way to say), maternal mental health is also. On average studies have shown postpartum posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to have a prevalence of 3.17 percent. Taking in account how many babies are born each year, 4.3 million women could develop postpartum PTSD each year. A traumatic birth can be a big risk factor for psychiatric disturbance for postpartum women. PTSD is not the only diagnosis of concern for women, but definitely the most debilitating. PTSD sufferers often choose to avoid triggers, but when your baby is your trigger that can pose a problem for families. Utilizing literature
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Beck declares “This traumatic childbirth theory reveals the chronic impact that just a short time in labor and delivery can have not only on the mothers themselves but also on their partners and infants. Health care providers’ acts always have consequences on patients, either positive or negative. These consequences can spread out like ripples when a stone is dropped into a pond” (2015). This theory is helpful in understanding that the effects of a traumatic birth are not linear. It is important to remember that the perception of traumatic childbirth is in the eye of the beholder. Beck’s theory addresses who is affected, how they can be affected and possible treatments for those affected by childbirth