There is no easy answer to this.  What may be traumatic to one mom would be fine to another.

• Some births are obviously traumatic (to others), such as when a mom or baby’s life is at risk – a mom might or might not be traumatized by this.
• Some births seem “normal” (to others), but a mom is traumatized by the experience. 

Simple Answer

If a mom perceives it at traumatic, then it is traumatic!

It is that simple.  It doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks about it, it only matters what you think about your birth. 

Examples

Traumatic Birth Examples could vary from:

• Emergency Cesarean
• Birth where a mom is given a vaginal exam while she is asking her care provider to stop.
• Birth which lasts for a very long time and mom is exhausted
• If a mom has previous history of abuse she may be more vulnerable for a traumatic birth – she should get extra support and alert her care providers so they are sensitive!
• Birth is very fast and mom doesn’t have time for an epidural she was planning on getting.
• __________________ Fill in the blank.

Again, it doesn’t matter what others think, it is what the mom perceives that matters.

Healing From a Traumatic Birth Series

(Sign up for my RSS feed, to be sure you don’t miss the rest of the series)

• Who Cares?

• What qualifies as a Traumatic Birth?
• Grieving after a traumatic birth.
• 7 Tips to Help You Heal After a Traumatic Birth
• 8 Tips to Help Support Another Mom Heal
• How can you avoid a traumatic birth?