Pseudotrauma during childbirth
or violence by "correctness"
In many countries and cities, the issue of obstetric violence has started to be voiced and spoken about openly. People are now talking about it in many different ways and in many different languages. Various professionals, women themselves, and their partners have begun to speak out.
#obstetricviolence — this is how women began tagging posts on social media, sharing their painful experiences and difficult emotions.
Emotions that often have a deep impact — sometimes changing a woman's life beyond recognition.
#obstetricviolence — this is how women began tagging posts on social media, sharing their painful experiences and difficult emotions.
Emotions that often have a deep impact — sometimes changing a woman's life beyond recognition.
It's great that such issues are being raised and discussed, that women are not silent, and that we are all speaking up.
However, there is also a flip side that I observe actively in practice.
I’ll call this — Pseudo-Trauma.
Let me illustrate this clearly with a dialogue from one of the consultations:
— They pressed on my stomach during labor!
(Yes, it’s known that certain obstetric maneuvers are prohibited as they can harm both the mother and the baby.)
Then — silence. The woman waits for my evaluative reaction. She looks at my face, expecting something that I clearly don’t provide.
She came on a recommendation — and I am clearly disappointing her.
I disappoint her because my face doesn't express the usual shock and condemnation after that phrase.
I wait. I wait for her to talk not so much about the event and the fact, but about her feelings and perception of what happened.
— And they pulled the placenta by the umbilical cord!
She adds louder.
I remain silent.
Finally, I ask directly, fully aware of what I’m getting into:
— What did you feel at THAT moment?
Now she goes quiet. Then she smiles faintly:
— Joy…
That moment was joyful. These births were happy.
— Why do you think your birth was traumatic?
— I found out later… I was told later that all these interventions were bad, that my birth was traumatic…
— Did a psychologist tell you that?
— No, a midwife. Then my friends and a massage therapist as well.
— Before they told you that, how were your births?
— Good…
When someone breaks their leg, it hurts a lot, and they go to a traumatologist.
They do an X-ray (basically, checking for a fracture) and assign therapy.
In psychology, it’s the same. The fractured place hurts. It hurts for a long time, making life difficult. That’s when a person seeks help, telling others about the sharp, unpleasant emotions they’re holding inside.
In such cases, seeing a psychologist trained in trauma techniques is a good decision.
When midwives, doulas, massage therapists, etc. diagnose a woman with trauma, it's often simply because they personally wouldn’t want to see those interventions during labor (in their own births, this woman’s, or anyone's).
Understanding that this desire has nothing to do with the woman herself and her experience of labor often comes only from a psychologist.
Anyone can suspect trauma.
Gently and unobtrusively, avoiding clichés and "diagnoses," recommending a specialist to clarify the situation, to explore what’s really happening — is a good alternative.
And yes, more and more modern science speaks about trauma diagnosis, for example, here:
http://pcr.news/novosti/naydeny-biomarkery-posttravmaticheskogo-stressovogo-rasstroystva/
However, there is also a flip side that I observe actively in practice.
I’ll call this — Pseudo-Trauma.
Let me illustrate this clearly with a dialogue from one of the consultations:
— They pressed on my stomach during labor!
(Yes, it’s known that certain obstetric maneuvers are prohibited as they can harm both the mother and the baby.)
Then — silence. The woman waits for my evaluative reaction. She looks at my face, expecting something that I clearly don’t provide.
She came on a recommendation — and I am clearly disappointing her.
I disappoint her because my face doesn't express the usual shock and condemnation after that phrase.
I wait. I wait for her to talk not so much about the event and the fact, but about her feelings and perception of what happened.
— And they pulled the placenta by the umbilical cord!
She adds louder.
I remain silent.
Finally, I ask directly, fully aware of what I’m getting into:
— What did you feel at THAT moment?
Now she goes quiet. Then she smiles faintly:
— Joy…
That moment was joyful. These births were happy.
— Why do you think your birth was traumatic?
— I found out later… I was told later that all these interventions were bad, that my birth was traumatic…
— Did a psychologist tell you that?
— No, a midwife. Then my friends and a massage therapist as well.
— Before they told you that, how were your births?
— Good…
When someone breaks their leg, it hurts a lot, and they go to a traumatologist.
They do an X-ray (basically, checking for a fracture) and assign therapy.
In psychology, it’s the same. The fractured place hurts. It hurts for a long time, making life difficult. That’s when a person seeks help, telling others about the sharp, unpleasant emotions they’re holding inside.
In such cases, seeing a psychologist trained in trauma techniques is a good decision.
When midwives, doulas, massage therapists, etc. diagnose a woman with trauma, it's often simply because they personally wouldn’t want to see those interventions during labor (in their own births, this woman’s, or anyone's).
Understanding that this desire has nothing to do with the woman herself and her experience of labor often comes only from a psychologist.
Anyone can suspect trauma.
Gently and unobtrusively, avoiding clichés and "diagnoses," recommending a specialist to clarify the situation, to explore what’s really happening — is a good alternative.
And yes, more and more modern science speaks about trauma diagnosis, for example, here:
http://pcr.news/novosti/naydeny-biomarkery-posttravmaticheskogo-stressovogo-rasstroystva/
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Email: votiakovasvetlana@gmail.com
Email: votiakovasvetlana@gmail.com