Motherhood can be a beautiful, rewarding experience, but the emotional journey is often overlooked. Many women, the media, and society as a whole tend to focus on the afterglow of motherhood rather than the struggles that come with it. The truth is, becoming a parent can be a challenge not only physically but mentally and emotionally.
Birth is considered medical trauma within itself as mothers are forced to go through a long and difficult process that can leave both physical and emotional scars. Women may experience extreme anxiety, depression, or PTSD stemming from childbirth. When giving birth, mothers face pain, anxiety, and the uncertainty of the unknown. Medical trauma is an often unspoken, yet significant, aspect of motherhood that can cause lasting emotional distress.
Medical Trauma in Motherhood
Mothers face medical trauma not just when giving birth but even beforehand. Women can face repeated losses during miscarriages, the repeated sadness of not being able to conceive, and then the physical and mental strain that comes with fertility treatments like IVF or IUI. Not to mention the risks of pregnancy complications that put mom or baby's life at risk. Even during the birthing process, motherhood carries with it moments of extreme stress and uncertainty such as an emergency c-section or a newborn in the NICU.
Then there is the possibility of the mother, or baby, staying in the hospital after birth. Medical trauma can cause a mother to lose her sense of security and control. Leaving her feeling anxious, fearful, or even hopeless. Plus, new and expectant mothers face invasive procedures, such as ultrasounds or amniocentesis.
So, What Exactly is Medical Trauma?
Medical trauma is defined as a traumatic experience, either physical or psychological, that has resulted from medical care. It includes a range of feelings such as fear, anxiety, pain, distress, and shock along with other negative emotions. The experience can be so overwhelming that it affects the mother's mental health long after the event is over. It can also be caused by the mother's medical team not providing enough emotional support or understanding.
Medical trauma is when there is repeated physical pain from complex chronic illnesses and medical emergencies. This can also occur with complications during birth or after birth, repeated invasive treatments or surgeries, and gaslighting by medical professionals. This can have a significant impact on the mother's mental and physical health. It can lead to symptoms of depression, anxiety, and even post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Mothers who experience medical trauma may feel disconnected from their bodies, their sense of self, and their identity as a mother. In extreme cases, it can cause a woman to hesitate or even avoid future medical care, which is detrimental to her health and well-being.
The Ripple Effect of Unaddressed Trauma on Maternal Mental Health
When a mother experiences medical trauma, it can have a profound impact on her mental health. Research has shown that unaddressed medical trauma can lead to an increased risk of postpartum depression and anxiety. Furthermore, mothers who suffer from medical trauma during pregnancy or delivery are more likely to suffer from perinatal depression and anxiety.
This is why working with a medical trauma therapist in Washington, DC can support new and expectant mothers. Having a safe space to discuss their feelings and experiences can help the mother process her emotions and move forward with confidence in her mothering journey. A therapist can also provide tools for coping with the trauma and developing healthy self-care practices that promote resilience and well-being.
How Therapy for Medical Trauma Can Help
Therapy for medical trauma in New York City can help mothers in many ways. Therapy can help mothers decrease feelings of panic, intense anxiety, stressful dreams about traumatic incidents, avoidance of certain activities due to fear, and help interpersonal relationships if they have been strained by medical trauma.
Working with a medical trauma therapist in Washington, DC can also help with the physical symptoms that come with medical trauma. Perhaps the mother now has chronic pain from giving birth or from a medical procedure. The therapist can help her work through these physical symptoms and understand how they are connected to the trauma she experienced. Through this process, she can learn to better manage the physical pain and build resiliency against further medical trauma. She will no longer have to feel alone and without solutions.
Therapy Can Also Help Mothers Learn to Feel Safe Again in a Medical Setting.
Many expectant and new moms struggle with anxiety when going to a doctor's office or hospital, due to previous experiences. With therapy for medical trauma in NY, trauma-informed CBT will help the mother to reframe previous experiences and learn coping skills. She will gain a sense of safety and control when entering medical settings, which can decrease her anxiety and fear.
Therapy can also assist in replacing negative thoughts about the medical system with positive ones. This allows women to have more confidence and trust in their care providers and the health system as a whole. By working with a medical trauma therapist in Washington, DC new and expectant mothers can navigate feelings of depression, avoiding situations that remind them of the trauma, hypervigilance, difficulty sleeping, and catastrophizing.
Ways to Find Support During Pregnancy and Postpartum
Having support can be key to helping a mother cope with her experiences of medical trauma. It is important for mothers to know that they are not alone. And that there are resources available to help them manage the effects of medical trauma while pregnant and postpartum. Having the right support system in place can make all the difference.
Seek Out a Reproductive Psychiatrist
A reproductive psychiatrist is a medical doctor who specializes in medication and the use of psychotherapy during pregnancy, labor, delivery, and postpartum. They are trained to identify and treat perinatal mood disorders such as depression and anxiety. Reproductive psychiatrists can provide individualized care with compassion and respect for the mother's needs. They can support new and expectant mothers with medications and therapy to help manage mental health safely during pregnancy and postpartum.
Find a Pelvic Physical Therapist
Pelvic physical therapy can also be beneficial for new and expectant mothers in need of support. This type of therapy is specialized to help treat conditions that affect the pelvic region, such as prenatal and postpartum pain, childbirth-related conditions, and pelvic floor dysfunction. Pelvic physical therapists can help support a woman during pregnancy, labor, and postpartum recovery with treatments tailored to her individual needs.
Reach Out for Supportive Psychotherapy
The changes that occur in pregnancy, delivery, and postpartum can be overwhelming. Women may struggle to process all the emotions that come with motherhood. Reaching out for supportive psychotherapy that is provided in therapy for medical trauma in NY can provide a safe space for mothers.
One where they can explore and better understand their feelings and experiences in order to move forward with confidence. Supportive psychotherapy can help new and expectant moms manage depression, anxiety, grief, fear, relationship struggles, lack of self-care practices, or just feeling overwhelmed.
It is crucial to find the right support system during pregnancy, labor, and postpartum. It can make all the difference in navigating medical trauma. Motherhood can be the rewarding, beautiful experience that it is meant to be when the right supports are in place. With support and guidance, new and expectant moms are better equipped to manage medical trauma and approach motherhood with confidence.
Navigate Motherhood with Confidence! Begin Therapy for Medical Trauma in NY, Washington DC, Virginia, and Maryland!
Having the right support in place can make all the difference when navigating medical trauma during pregnancy, labor, and postpartum. At Greater Washington DC and New York City CBT Counseling for Women, I specialize in helping women through medical trauma, birth trauma, and complex trauma. Together we can work through this and help you start thriving again. By working with a medical trauma therapist in Washington, DC who also is a therapist for women in Washington, DC you can begin your journey to healing. Follow the steps below to get started on your journey to healing.
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Other Mental Health Services Offered at Greater Washington DC and New York City CBT Counseling for Women
You are expecting or you are a new mother and this time can be filled with many emotions, hopes, and dreams. Having a therapist for women in Washington, DC, or New York City to help you feel validated, heard, and understood can be beneficial. Hi, I'm Kelsey Bates! I specialize in women’s health, which means I offer several mental health services geared toward helping women cope with medical trauma. At Greater Washington DC and New York City CBT Counseling for Women, I offer an array of therapeutic services for anxiety, depression, and PTSD in both Individual and Group counseling settings. I also specialize in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Cognitive Processing Therapy in addition to CBT.