Reasons why women don’t get over Child Birth Trauma

There are quite a number of reasons as to why women do not get over the Child Birth Trauma. Here are some of the major ones;

Childbirth is incredibly painful and associated with high risk of maternal death. The myth that women are biologically programmed to forget the pain of childbirth is fostered by the language we use to describe euphoria and relief of delivering a healthy baby. It hasn’t really been forgotten, but the happiness and reward colour the memory of the preceding pain. At the extremes of pain, memories appear more constant and in fact some women develop post-traumatic stress symptoms after a negative birth experience.

It goes without saying that during labour your lady bits are centre stage, but many women arrive at the hospital or birthing Centre hoping to keep their modesty intact. When in labour all modesty goes out of the window and having to expose an area a woman wants to protect at all times can be extremely traumatizing.

Women who deliver vaginally sometimes end up with up to a 4th degree tear that extend into the rectum which can cause considerable pain for some time and may lead to anal incontinence. In the case of a tear, it is not only the immediate pain of the tear that is traumatizing but it is quite painful to recover from the stitches which are sometimes up to 200.

Caesarean section is major abdominal surgery and often its emotional impact is misunderstood, dismissed or overlooked. Some women who experience a caesarean especially if it was not anticipated for can suffer from post-traumatic stress. Fear of the recovery period, fear of pain and difficulties can halt a woman from getting pregnant again as the experience left them feeling distressed, confused and angry.

In the days and weeks following the delivery of a baby, a woman’s body will start changing as it returns to its non-pregnant condition. These changes may include contractions also known as after pains, sore muscles, bleeding and vaginal discharge (lochia), vaginal soreness and breast engorgement can cause trauma.

Haemorrhoids are dilated blood vessels in the anus and lower rectum and they swell when the veins enlarge and the walls become stretched, thin and irritated by passing stool. It is common during pregnancy and in the weeks after giving birth and can cause stain during bowel movements or pass hard stool and this in itself can cause enough trauma.

Sometimes child birth isn’t just rainbows or sugars and spices. Yes, I could say that again! A number of women, even those who get the chance to get the best practitioners, have either lost their lives in top-notch hospitals and worse still, lose their new-borns. Complications during birth, infections after birth, haemorrhage, labour-induction and eclampsia are just but few things that can cause death. Mothers who have experienced any of these might not recover from the trauma.