Birth Trauma

Written and Fact-Checked by: Jenna Carberg

What Is Birth Trauma?

Birth trauma is the lasting emotional distress some parents feel after a frightening or overwhelming birth. An international group of researchers and parent organizations defined a traumatic childbirth experience as interactions or events during childbirth that caused “overwhelming distressing emotions and reactions,” with short- or long-term effects on a woman’s health and well-being.

Two things are important about that definition:

  • It’s about how you experienced the birth. A birth can be traumatic even if it looked “routine” on paper, and your own experience is what counts most.
  • It isn’t the same as PTSD. Many people who experience birth as traumatic never meet all the criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder, and their distress still deserves care. For the diagnosis itself, see postpartum PTSD.

How Common Is Birth Trauma?

The numbers depend on what’s being measured.

What was measured How common
Women who found their birth traumatic (UK study) 14% to 29%, depending on the definition used
Full PTSD after birth, mothers (largest meta-analysis, 154 studies) 4.7%
Significant post-traumatic stress symptoms without full PTSD, mothers 12.3%
PTSD after birth, fathers 1.2%
PTSD after a birth women already described as traumatic About 19%

Researchers estimate that childbirth-related PTSD affects about 6.6 million mothers and 1.7 million fathers or co-parents worldwide each year.

Higher-Risk Situations

  • Cesarean birth: about 11% had PTSD in a meta-analysis. Emergency cesareans appeared riskier than planned cesareans, though that difference wasn’t statistically significant in the largest analysis.
  • Assisted births with forceps or vacuum were more closely linked to PTSD than spontaneous vaginal births.
  • Stillbirth or infant death: bereaved mothers had about 7 times the odds of screening positive for PTSD nine months later. See depression after pregnancy loss.
  • NICU stays: studies report PTSD in 4.5% to 30% of mothers and up to 33% of fathers.

What Makes a Birth Traumatic?

A meta-analysis of 50 studies found the factors most strongly linked to PTSD after birth were:

  • How you experienced the birth. A negative subjective experience was the single strongest factor, more than the medical details.
  • An operative birth, meaning cesarean or assisted vaginal delivery
  • Lack of support during birth
  • Dissociation, feeling detached or unreal during birth
  • Before birth: depression during pregnancy, fear of childbirth, pregnancy complications and a history of PTSD or trauma

Being a first-time mother and having a pre-existing mental health condition also raised the chance of finding birth traumatic.

Mistreatment During Childbirth

How people are treated during birth matters. A World Health Organization-coauthored review of studies from 34 countries identified seven types of mistreatment, including physical, verbal and sexual abuse, discrimination, failure to meet professional standards such as procedures without consent, and poor communication between women and providers.

In the U.S., the Giving Voice to Mothers study of more than 2,100 women found:

  • 1 in 6 women (17.3%) reported at least one type of mistreatment, such as being shouted at, scolded or threatened, losing autonomy, or being ignored when asking for help.
  • Rates were 28.1% among hospital births and 5.1% among home births, though women who choose home birth may differ in other ways.

Racial Disparities

Black women and other women of color in the U.S. report more mistreatment during childbirth:

  • In the Giving Voice to Mothers study, women of color reported more mistreatment even when comparing women with similar incomes (27.2% vs. 18.7% among lower-income women). Having a Black partner also raised reported mistreatment, regardless of the mother’s race.
  • A follow-up analysis found Black women had nearly twice the odds of undergoing procedures they hadn’t consented to.
  • In a California survey, women supported by a doula were more likely to report respectful care, and the link was strongest for Black women. See postpartum doulas.

Signs of Birth Trauma

  • Flashbacks, intrusive memories or nightmares about the birth
  • Avoiding reminders, such as the hospital, your birth story or medical appointments
  • Feeling constantly on edge, jumpy or unable to relax
  • Guilt, shame, anger or numbness about the birth
  • Difficulty feeling close to your baby
  • Intense fear of getting pregnant or giving birth again
  • Low mood or anxiety; birth-related PTSD often occurs with postpartum depression

Symptoms can appear right away or surface later, including around the baby’s birthday.

How Birth Trauma Can Affect Families

  • Bonding: studies link post-traumatic stress after birth with more bonding difficulties and, in some studies, feeding problems. A systematic review cautioned that other factors may explain part of this and that evidence on breastfeeding and infant sleep is still limited.
  • Future pregnancies: a previous negative or traumatic birth is one of the strongest predictors of fear of childbirth in a later pregnancy.
  • Relationships: researchers describe strain on relationships with partners and with the baby.

Partners and Fathers

Watching a partner go through a traumatic birth can be distressing. Fathers and birth partners have lower rates of PTSD than mothers, about 1% in meta-analyses, but in a UK study of 61 fathers, many described lasting distress and said there was no dedicated support for them. Partners who felt excluded during a severe hemorrhage described it as traumatic. See postpartum depression in men and support for partners.

Treatment for Birth Trauma

Trauma-Focused Therapy

  • The UK’s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommends offering women with PTSD after a traumatic birth, miscarriage or stillbirth trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) or eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR).
  • A meta-analysis found trauma-focused therapies reduced PTSD symptoms after childbirth in the short and medium term, though it was based on a small number of trials.
  • A 2024 review of 41 studies found early, brief, structured trauma-focused therapy and midwife-led counseling after a difficult birth had moderate to large effects in reducing post-traumatic stress symptoms.

What About EMDR?

EMDR is recommended by NICE, and small studies are encouraging. In a pilot trial, women who received EMDR shortly after a traumatic birth were less likely to have post-traumatic stress symptoms at six weeks. But most EMDR studies for birth trauma specifically have been small, so the evidence is still building.

What Doesn’t Help: One-Time Debriefing

A Cochrane review found no evidence that routine debriefing after a traumatic birth prevents problems, and NICE advises against single-session interventions focused on “reliving” the trauma. That’s different from ongoing trauma-focused therapy, which is recommended. NICE does recommend offering advice and support to anyone who wants to talk about a traumatic birth.

In the U.S., the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists’ 2023 mental health guidelines don’t include a specific recommendation on birth trauma, so NICE’s guidance is the most specific available.

Find a therapist trained in trauma-focused therapy or EMDR for birth trauma

What You Can Do

  • Name it. Telling your provider “My birth was traumatic, and I’m still struggling” opens the door to help.
  • Get screened for depression and anxiety with the EPDS or GAD-7.
  • Ask for a trauma-informed therapist, ideally one with perinatal training such as PMH-C certification.
  • Plan ahead before another pregnancy so your care team knows your history and can support your birth choices.
  • Connect with others. See support groups.

Call or text the National Maternal Mental Health Hotline at 1-833-TLC-MAMA (1-833-852-6262), 24 hours a day. If you have thoughts of harming yourself, call or text 988.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is considered a traumatic birth?

A birth you experienced as overwhelming or frightening, with lasting emotional effects. It’s defined by your experience, not by whether complications occurred.

How common is birth trauma?

Studies suggest 14% to 29% of women find their birth traumatic, about 5% develop full PTSD, and another 12% have significant post-traumatic stress symptoms.

Is birth trauma the same as postpartum PTSD?

No. Birth trauma describes the experience; PTSD is a diagnosis with specific criteria. Many people with birth trauma don’t meet full PTSD criteria but still benefit from support.

Does EMDR work for birth trauma?

EMDR is recommended by NICE for PTSD after birth, and early studies are promising, but most trials have been small.

Can fathers have birth trauma?

Yes. Fathers and partners can be distressed by witnessing a traumatic birth, though full PTSD is less common than in mothers.

How do you heal from a traumatic birth?

Trauma-focused therapy, including trauma-focused CBT and EMDR, has the best evidence. Support from loved ones and your care team also matters.

PostpartumDepression.org Team
Written by:

Jenna Carberg was diagnosed with postpartum depression following the birth of her daughter in 2016. It was a healthy birth but in the following days, Jenna's mood changed quickly. Doctors suggested that it might be the "baby blues", but her husband Chris suggested she seek a second opinion. Jenna was diagnosed with postpartum depression and began a journey that lasted 9 long months with significant ups and downs. Jenna's mental health care and her experiences became a passion for her to share with the world. She and her husband Chris founded PostpartumDepression.org as a support website designed to help women suffering in silence and their loved ones.

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