Birth trauma, or having a traumatic childbirth experience, is common, but largely remains unrecognized within maternity care. A new report from the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute, produced in collaboration with the Utah Department of Health and Human Services, draws on interviews with Utah women who experienced birth trauma to better understand its causes, impacts, and opportunities to improve care.
“Findings indicate that communication, emotional validation, and access to mental health support can play an important role in how women process and recover from difficult birth experiences,” said Melanie Beagley, senior health research analyst at the Gardner Institute and lead author of the report. “By sharing findings from these stories, the report aims to increase awareness of birth trauma and identify opportunities to strengthen maternity care and postpartum support.”
Desiree Ferrin, family patient partner at the Utah Department of Health and Human Services, said, “With my third baby we experienced a traumatic delivery that rocked my whole world and stopped our family in its tracks. I did my best to try and put the pieces back together and put on a brave face, but it was exhausting trying to physically and emotionally heal while trying to take care of my family and a brand new baby. I have never felt so isolated and alone. It wasn’t until I was able to find people who had experienced similar situations that I felt like I was finally able to breathe and seek help. It’s our hope that by highlighting these women’s stories we can be the light for others I so desperately needed and empower more women to speak up and share their stories so no one else will walk this path alone.”
Key findings from the research include the following:
Birth trauma is common – National estimates indicate between 9% and 44% of moms report experiencing trauma from their childbirth.
Care experiences contribute to birth trauma – Experiences can include emergency cesarean delivery, obstetric emergencies or medical complications, fear for one’s own life or the newborn’s life, separation from the newborn for medical care, loss of patient autonomy, poor maternity care team communication, and lack of emotional validation.
Birth trauma impacts – Untreatedbirth trauma can result in persistent mental health challenges, negative perceptions or mistrust of the health system, disrupted newborn bonding, strained family relationships, anxiety about or avoidance of future pregnancies, and for some families, the grief accompanying the loss of the ability to have more children.
Opportunities to mitigate birth trauma – Interview participants expressed a desire for more thorough debriefs with their care providers, mental health education, universal mental health checks before hospital discharge, proactive postpartum outreach, additional postpartum check-ups, and the need for more maternal mental health specialists and provider training.
Community-based supports could play a role – Participants also noted that peer support, public education on maternal mental health, and efforts to reduce barriers to seeking mental health care (such as cost, stigma, and childcare) can improve awareness, reduce isolation, and address practical barriers that affect access.
A growing number of resources provide a foundation for support – An increasing number of state-level resources for mothers, families, and maternity care teams are helping improve awareness of birth trauma, support recovery, and strengthen trauma-informed maternity care.
