Coping with Birth Trauma and Postnatal Depression

There are few sensations more wonderful than a cuddle with your new baby. But what happens if you burst into tears every time you re-live your baby’s birth? If you spend your day staring at the wall instead of enjoying outings together? If you find yourself crying with exhaustion when faced with a screaming baby at 4am? For some women, becoming a parent can be unexpectedly hard. With today’s high expectations of motherhood, there is still a taboo about not loving your baby at birth, or finding some aspects of motherhood boring and miserable. Postnatal depression (PND) affects around one in six new mothers, while it’s estimated that up to 200,000 women each year may feel traumatised by childbirth, with feelings of fear, guilt, anxiety, and symptoms such as flashbacks, nightmares and persistent memories of birth. This book explores how to cope with such feelings, and how to make a successful and happy adjustment to motherhood even when it doesn’t come naturally at first. Topics include: Defining birth trauma and postnatal depression When bonding doesn’t happen – learning to love your baby Family relationships and how they may change You and your partner – how your relationship changes once you have a baby Body image – how a baby changes your body; social pressures on your body Coming to terms with your new identity Moving forward You can’t change society and its often unrealistic expectations and stereotypes of motherhood, but one day everything will fall into place and you will come to love your new baby and feel confident in your new role.