Birth trauma refers to damage of the tissues and organs of a newly delivered child, often as a result of physical pressure or trauma during childbirth. The term also encompasses the long term consequences, often of cognitive nature, of damage to the brain or cranium.
having a difficult labour or experiencing labour complications. needing intervention during labour, such as an assisted delivery (using forceps or ventouse) or an emergency caesarean. you or your baby suffering birth injury. your baby needing medical attention after the birth.
A traumatic birth experience is associated with postpartum mental health problems, including depression and post traumatic stress disorder [PTSD] [1, 3–6]. Poor mental health in the postnatal period can alter a woman's sense of self, and disrupt family relationships [7–10].
Facial nerve: Facial nerve is the most common cranial nerve-injured with a traumatic birth. It occurs in up to 10 per 1000 live births and is usually a result of pressure on the facial nerve by forceps or from a prominent maternal sacral promontory during descent.
Symptoms to look out for
These are: Re-experiencing the traumatic event through flashbacks, nightmares or intrusive memories. These make you feel distressed and panicky. Avoiding anything that reminds you of the trauma.
The trauma of the birth is thus compounded by a separation from the mother. This effect on mother-child bonding so early in life has a major influence on the child's psychological development later in life.
a kind of 'frozen watchfulness' – the child may have a 'shocked' look. giving the appearance of being numb and not showing their feelings or seeming a bit 'cut off' from what is happening around them. loss of playful and engaging smiling and 'coo-ing' behaviour.
We know that up to 1 in 3 mums experience the birth of their baby as traumatic. This trauma can result from what happens during labour and childbirth, but also how a mum feels about her birthing experience.
Some people experience complications before or after the birth that most people would understand to be traumatic, such as an assisted birth, perineal tears or problems with pain management in labour. Other people may have had an apparently normal birth but feel disappointed or distressed.
Uterine rupture: Enlargement of the uterus makes it susceptible to direct abdominal trauma. This rare complication is estimated to complicate 0.6% of traumatic injury. Uterine rupture is associated with a fetal mortality rate approaching 100%.
Once a delivery lasts longer than 18 hours, it is considered a difficult birth, and the baby's body is probably under a lot of stress. Some of the birth trauma causes related to delivery include: Size of the Baby: When babies weight over eight pounds, 13 ounces, they are generally more difficult to deliver.
Researchers found that the use of forceps and vacuum during childbirth was associated with a higher risk of physical trauma. The study, published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, found physical trauma, such as perineal tears, occurred in one in four births where forceps were used.
Almost half of women describe their birth experience as traumatic but many don't feel as though they're entitled to help. You're not alone and here's how to get the support you need.
Birth injuries can lead to long-term complications, including cognitive developmental disabilities. A baby who suffers head trauma at birth may have a higher chance of developing ADD/ADHD, cerebral palsy, and various learning disabilities. In some cases, head trauma and other birth injuries are unavoidable.
Every year hundreds of babies suffer some degree of brain damage as a result of trauma during childbirth. Birth injuries involving brain damage are the most serious and potentially devastating type of birth injuries.
There are many factors that may have led to your child's birth injuries, including the combination of genes from you and your partner that ultimately shaped your child's genetics. For many years, heredity has been blamed for birth injuries that are, in fact, caused by medical errors and other tragic, avoidable causes.
“Early pre- and post-natal experiences, including early trauma, are encoded in the implicit memory of the fetus, located in the subcortical and deep limbic regions of the maturing brain.” Much research has found that the limbic system, when interrupted during early developmental stages, can contribute to PTSD and ...
While these birth injuries are physical, many mothers can experience emotional or psychological distress — before, during or after the birth. This is known as birth trauma. There are ways to decrease your risk of birth trauma, and both treatment and support are available.
The researchers found that those children exposed to complications during childbirth were 10% likelier to develop autism while those who were exposed before labor were 22% likelier to develop autism.
When you give birth vaginally and your baby is crowning (their head is visible in your vaginal opening), you may feel what's known as the "ring of fire." The ring refers to the circle your baby's head makes as it pushes on and stretches your vaginal opening, and the fire refers to the burning, stinging sensation you ...
Forceps-Assisted Birth Injury Risks
Sadly, although forceps are only used in 1% of vaginal births, they account for about 30% of birth injuries, including skull fractures, seizures, bleeding in the skull, facial palsy, brain damage, and more.
However, ultimately it is your body, and you do have the right to refuse any procedure at any time! Ask as many questions as you need to feel comfortable, and you can also change your mind as the situation progresses. How did you feel after your forceps birth?
Excessive bleeding.
If delivery results in tears to the uterus, or if the uterus does not contract to deliver the placenta, heavy bleeding can result. Worldwide, such bleeding is a leading cause of maternal death.