Traumatic Childbirth

"Postpartum depression has become a more recognized mental illness over the past decade as a result of education and increased awareness. Traumatic childbirth, however, is still often overlooked, resulting in a scarcity of information for health professionals. This is in spite of up to 34% of new mothers reporting experiencing a traumatic childbirth and prevalence rates rising for high risk mothers, such as those who experience stillbirth or who had very low birth weight infants. This groundbreaking bookbrings together an academic, a clinician and a birth trauma activist. Each chapter discusses current research, women's stories, the common themes in the stories and the implications of these for practice, clinical case studies and a clinician's insights and recommendations for care. Topics covered include: mothers' perspectives, fathers' perspectives, the impact on breastfeeding, the impact on subsequent births, PTSD after childbirth and EMDR treatment for PTSD. This book is a valuable resource for health professionals who come into contact with new mothers, providing the most current and accurate information on traumatic childbirth. It also presents mothers' experiences in a manner that is accessible to women, their partners, and families"--Provided by publisher.

Cheryl Tatano Beck is Distinguished Professor at the School of Nursing, University of Connecticut, USA.

Jeanne Watson Driscoll is a board certified clinical nurse specialist in adult psychiatric-mental health nursing. She maintains a private psychotherapy practice specializing in the care of women experiencing mood and anxiety disorders during their reproductive years in Boston Massachusetts, USA.

Sue Watson is co-founder of Trauma and Birth Stress (TABS), an organization dedicated to raising the profile of traumatic birth and the devastation it causes. She currently works as a childbirth educator in Auckland, New Zealand.