NEW WEBPAGE!

If you've subscribed to this blog, you may have noticed a HUGE change... We've changed formats! Check MommaTrauma out at www.MommaTraumaBlog.com for new posts, tips, resources, and all that fun jazz!

Empower Ourselves: My story & Word Clouds

Momma Trauma has had her own experiences in the trauma department. No two families will experience birth trauma the same, so my experience may be totally different than your own. But it is because of my experiences with birth trauma and the reactions I received from family, friends and authority figures that we are here. So, I wanted to share with you those experiences. You are NOT alone! You can read my birth story on The (phenomenal) Guggie Daily blog. (Note: Story may contain triggers) My dear friend Guggie played a very important role in my healing process early on by listening and posting my birth story for others to read. My story involves a very controversial term: "Birth Rape." I don't often use that term, and will write a blog post on it soon. It's inflammatory, and it means different things to different people. Please be respectful to myself and others. I have come to terms with what I call my "Birth rape" and subsequent birth trauma & ptsd. That is how I chose to identify my situation and it's okay if you don't agree with that term. Now, I usually use "violated." I was violated, seriously violated to the point I got ptsd and had major issues in the bedroom and triggers throughout my life for a while. I use that when I don't think people will really understand, so if you read through the story and get angry with my choice term, substitute the term "birth rape" for "violated" and you'll find it does the same thing for you. You know, we don't often want to "spew" these bad experiences for everyone to read. But if someone doesn't, nothing will ever change. This is a serious epidemic we have on our hands and without SERIOUS change, nothing will ever be done.  I can't stress that enough.

What empowers you? What will make you feel better about the experience you've encountered? For me, I need to own what happened and I am not to that point yet. I'm still healing. I am angry, bitter, sad, confused, and a myriad of other emotions. It empowered me to make the word cloud you might have seen on our Facebook page. It empowered me to see all those words that I bottle inside me all squished together and thrown out there for all to see. I would encourage all of you to make your own word cloud for healing. If you're a birth trauma supporter, make a word cloud to encourage yourself to be the supporter you'd like to become or even one to encourage those of us you might work with! Please share these word clouds with me! Send them to my email, my Facebook inbox or share it on the wall!

What is Perinatal Violence?

I created this page to not only support and offer a voice to birth trauma families, but also in hopes to eventually introduce legislation to my local government and across our nation to outlaw something that seems to become more and more prevalent as each year passes: Perinatal Violence. Perinatal Violence would be take into account violent acts against the mother by her birthing professionals starting shortly before birth up to a few weeks thereafter. Perinatal is a much better term for those of us in countries where the midwifery practice is an active and vital role in our birthing environments. Recently, Venezuela passed an "Obstetric Violence" law which made illegal  the following:

(1) Untimely and ineffective attention of obstetric emergencies;
(2) Forcing the woman to give birth in a supine position, with legs raised,
when the necessary means to perform a vertical delivery are available;
(3) Impeding the early attachment of the child with his/her mother
without a medical cause thus preventing the early attachment and blocking the
possibility of holding, nursing or breast-feeding immediately after birth;
(4) Altering the natural process of low-risk delivery by using acceleration techniques,
without obtaining voluntary, expressed and informed consent of the woman;
(5) Performing delivery via cesarean section, when natural childbirth is possible,
without obtaining voluntary, expressed, and informed consent from the woman.
For more info on their law at The Unnecesarean, click here!

What a concept. Sadly, there is nothing currently in the United States legal system for any of these situations. At this point in time, we have no voice against these infractions. No standing ground! Were you violated during the birth of your child? Your doctor must have been performing a life-saving measure, you'll have to suck it up and get over it. That's what I've heard time and time again after explaining my own birth trauma story in hopes of seeing something done. In reality, non-consensual membrane sweeps (AROM), unwanted vaginal exams, pushing a laboring woman to take drugs she doesn't need or want, all of these things CAN be avoided and in most situations, aren't life or death! Checking a moms cervix right before baby arrives is probably not a life saving measure. But that's what we hear over and over again. 

So what can we do? Individually, there are many things you can do to see that you are heard. We'll get into those steps later. Collectively as a whole, we need to create change. We need to introduce legislation to our state's and the nation like what Venezuela has done. I would love to see other non-consensual issues added to the legislation such as unwanted vaginal exams. This goes beyond medical licensing issues and malpractice; this ventures into making these offenses illegal.

We need to get into the mind-frame that even in childbirth, this is still our own body. We still deserve respect, dignity and if we say NO, it means NO!

What would YOU like to see in a Perinatal Violence law? Let me know in the comments below or on my Facebook page!

What is Birth Trauma?

Perhaps you have reached Momma Trauma by chance, or through the sharing of a friend (thanks friend!), or perhaps you have experienced Birth Trauma yourself. Wherever you are in your journey of life, "Birth Trauma" is now in your mind. So what is it, exactly?

The Birth Trauma Association tells us it is something which occurs in a mother when she gets PTSD, or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or at least some of its symptoms after childbirth.

So what does that brief and broad description mean?

Over the next weeks and months to come, Momma Trauma will answer these questions and many more. Birth Trauma is a term used when a mother feels, well, traumatized from her childbirth experience. Something happened during her experience to set off bad vibrations in her, bad enough to create immense emotional dealings within herself. We're not talking common baby blues, or an euphoric momma who's elated every time her bundle of joy coo's. When we say Birth Trauma, we are talking about a myriad of emotions, triggers, problems, bad memories, flashbacks, trouble sleeping or eating, depression... Birth Trauma affects each person differently, and it's not just the mothers! This could affect the father, partner, birth attendants, etc. Every persons' experience with Birth Trauma will be different.

Why would a mother get PTSD from childbirth of all things? Baby is healthy, Momma is healthy, what's the problem?

First off, let me begin this question with this: That has to be one of the worst things you can say to a Birth Trauma family. The problem is that emotions are important and can really take over your life when you least expect them to do so. We'll get into that "everyone is healthy" statement at another time. Back to the question at hand: Why would a mother get PTSD from childbirth? Birth Trauma is not something every family experiences, and I'd venture to say not even most families experience Birth Trauma. But for those of us who have had the misfortune of dealing with PTSD from childbirth, the reasons vary by the hundreds. The important thing to remember is that PTSD and Birth Trauma are very real and we need to be open and willing to support families who are going through these situations in their lives.

Ultimately, Birth Trauma is relative. A mother could have Birth Trauma that stemmed from having to go through a cesarean delivery when she was expecting a natural birth. It could happen because she was sexually abused earlier in life and childbirth triggered that abuse all over again. There are countless reasons one might have to deal with Birth Trauma. You don't have to agree with them, you may not even understand. What you should understand is that emotions are real. This mother or family dealing with Birth Trauma is dealing with real, raw emotions that they probably cannot control yet. 

And they need to know that is okay.

Welcome to Momma Trauma's Place!

Welcome to my new home! Please pardon the dust as I get settled in and ready for the challenge ahead of us! Here's what Momma Trauma is all about...

Momma Trauma seeks to provide a voicing platform for the unheard and ashamed voices of birth trauma. Momma Trauma's mission is to create legislative change to not only prevent perinatal violence but to give women and families their voices back so they can speak out against acts of violence which may have occurred within their birthing environment.

Women and families need a voice that cannot be found in today's culture and society. Momma Trauma seeks to find those voices amidst a vast sea of nay-sayers. Here, we understand some births were truly traumatic. We understand perinatal violence truly does happen. We understand that change needs to be made for the current birthing climate to improve.

Momma Trauma is a momma of two beautiful surprises, wife to a hardworking husband and fur-momma to two cute pups. She trusts in the female body to have a successful, natural birth. She's an extended breastfeeding, cloth diapering and babywearing momma who is actively involved in her local community, church and business ventures.