Birth processing is appropriate for almost anyone who wishes to unpack their birth story in a way that feels safe and supported.
It is beneficial to both the birthing person, partners and even those who have suffered vicarious trauma through working in the birthing space. I truly believe that every person should be offered a form of birth processing as part of their postpartum journey, to reflect on their experiences and honour the huge transition that birth and motherhood brings. If you want to reflect on any of your feelings surrounding your birth, to recognise how they show up in your day to day and discover how you would like this to change, I can hold you through this.
Common reasons for attending a birth processing session can be any or many of the following:
You are pregnant or trying to conceive following a previous traumatic birth experience and would like to process what happened to you so that you might feel lighter and more empowered for your future birth.
You have unresolved feelings around your birth of sadness, grief, shame, guilt, discrimination, trauma or violation.
You are experiencing feelings of numbness and disconnect to your birth or body.
You would like to feel acknowledged and validated in your experience.
You feel triggered by or avoid any discussion or reminders of birth.
You want to explore how you would like to feel if your thoughts and feelings surrounding birth were lifted.
You would like to better understand why what happened, happened.
You found a hospital provided birth debrief/reflection service retriggering, or unable to offer the acknowledgment and validation you were seeking and would like to be supported privately.
Your birth was a joyful and empowering experience but it doesn’t feel safe to share these feelings with your circle in the way you would like to.
I truly believe that birth brings with it so many new feelings and experiences, both in body and mind, that it deserves a space to truly be heard, held and honoured for any and all feelings that come with it.
I would like to acknowledge that simply by being here and reading this, you have already taken a huge step in acknowledging that there are unresolved feelings around your birth (or a birth you have witnessed). This is a reminder to take a breath, to give yourself grace and compassion for all of the feelings that come up and how these can affect you in your motherhood or parenting journey. I truly mean it when I say I hope you know how deserving you are of being supported through these feelings and I would be honoured to hold space for you to do so.
When is birth processing not appropriate?
Birth processing may not be the appropriate service for you if you have complex mental health needs. It is not a replacement for support from a qualified medical professional and I cannot diagnose or treat mental health conditions. If you are struggling and feel that your needs exceed that which this service offers, please seek advice from a healthcare professional. You deserve to be supported.
I would also like to recognise that I may not be the right person for you and that this is ok too. Feeling aligned with the person supporting you can feel really important and so if I am not the person for you, I invite you to look elsewhere to find someone who is and who can support you.
As I learn more and more about birth trauma it is also clear that in some instances, for example experiences of racism, prejudice and discrimination, support can feel better when received from a person with lived experience of those issues. I am doing the work myself to check my own biases and to ensure this is an inclusive space, but at the same time I can also acknowledge that for some people you may feel safer having your story held by someone who can relate to your lived experiences without a need for explanation, which can otherwise add work to an already difficult task.