Birth Trauma Debriefing: A Specialist Midwife’s Perspective

Abstract

In the UK, 4 in 100 women and birthing people develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) postnatally.1 In addition, up to 30% of maternity service users experience childbirth as a traumatic event. Factors leading to birth trauma are numerous, and support for parents affected by birth trauma must be provided in a timely, sensitive and individualised manner.2,3 Midwife and writer Illiyin Morrison is blazing the trail for midwife-led support for birth trauma in the UK. Here she shares her insights with the authors on birth trauma, debriefing and the role of student midwives.