A birthing person’s psychological experience of childbirth matters. Every story matters.

Whether someone labored unmedicated for 36 hours or they scheduled an elective cesarean or something in between, there’s great importance in making space for birth stories to be shared, truly listened to, and validated.

Giving birth is a profoundly psychological AND physical experience leaving an irreplaceable impact in the short and long term for the birthing person and anyone else present for the event. The effects of a birth experience can be positive and empowering, or negative and traumatizing and regardless of their cultural background, people need to share their birth stories to process an experience that is - to sum it up in one word - intense!

I recently found a good piece from the National Library of Medicine (NLM) on this topic that I tie in with Cesarean Awareness Month, even though it’s not a direct link. They said “Factors that facilitate a positive birth experience include having a sense of control during birth, an opportunity for active involvement in care and support and responsive care from others in relation to women’s experience of labor pain. There is limited research on women’s lived experience of physiological childbirth, including their emotional response. This lack of knowledge concerning the psychological dimension of childbirth can lead to mismanagement of the birthing process. At the extreme, a lack of understanding of the psychology of childbirth can contribute to a traumatizing birth, which can be devastating to women even when the immediate outcome is a physically healthy mother and newborn. When women in labor encounter caregivers who do not incorporate emotional needs into their care, they can experience this as disrespect, mistreatment or in some instances, as a form of abuse or obstetric violence.”

I don’t know about you, but I’d rather avoid ALL things that can be described as traumatizing, abusive, violent, or disrespectful.

Especially when bringing forth a new life into the world is involved!

Whatdoyasay we do better, folks? Let’s BE better!

At the conclusion of the piece from the NLM they said:

“Giving birth physiologically is an intense and transformative psychological experience that generates a sense of empowerment. The benefits of this process can be maximized through physical, emotional, and social support for women, enhancing their belief in their ability to birth and not disturbing physiology unless it is necessary. Healthcare professionals need to take cognizance of the empowering effects of the psychological experience of physiological childbirth. Further research to validate the results from this study is necessary.”

And I’d have to say that I agree!