Welcome to the Fraser Valley Birth Trauma Support Page.  This page was set up by a fellow birth trauma survivor after not finding any resources available in the community.  The latest estimates of birth trauma rates are now at 45% of all births every year.  While unexpected and traumatic events can occur during birth, most survivors say that the reason for their trauma has more to do with how they were treated rather than what actually happened to them.  This means that birth trauma is largely preventable.  Once the trauma has occurred, the people who were involved move on with their lives while we are left to pick up the pieces.  This page is full of resources to help you navigate your own healing journey.  You are not alone.

To start off, here are some common feelings you may have after your birth trauma:

-You may feel that your experience wasn't as bad as what other people have gone through, and question if what happened to you was "traumatic enough" to be considered birth trauma.
- You may have trouble bonding with your baby or question whether or not your baby is actually yours.
- You may feel triggered by any mention of birth in any context.
- You may feel very angry or envious of other people's positive birth stories.
- You may feel very overprotective of your baby, more so than other parents seem to be.
- You may have many questions, memories that are out of order or have a lot of confusion surrounding what actually happened to you.

These are all examples of trauma responses.  Remember, that if it felt traumatic to you then it was trauma, regardless of the specifics of what happened.  Trauma occurs when there is an event that is sudden, unexpected and overwhelming, during which you feel out of control and have no voice.  Your feelings are valid no matter what they are, even if they contradict each other.

See below for some of the resources available to you.  Click here if you want to know more about me.  Feel free to reach out if you have any questions or join our facebook support group.