The Birth Debrief: Reflecting on pregnancy, Reframing birth, Redefining post-partum

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Essentially, birth debriefing provides the birthing woman with the opportunity to talk about her birth experience. In the first moments after the birth of your baby, you are usually overwhelmed with meeting your baby or ensuring you are both safe. If you are still under the care of your midwife you could also ask them for a referral too.' What are the benefits of a birth debrief?

The Birth Debrief - Andrew Nurnberg Associates International

It may be taking longer to come to terms with your birth experience than you, or those close to you, expected. If, as the weeks and months go by, you recognise the following signs and symptoms, seek support from your GP or health visitor: Hospitals are under a legal obligation to keep your notes for 28 years. Normally they are sent electronically. if the baby has not passed meconium, advise the parents that if the baby does not do so within 24 hours of birth, they should seek advice from a healthcare professional (also see recommendation 1.3.12) From the moment we are born and throughout our lives, one of our biggest wishes is to be heard. As babies we cry, as toddlers we may throw ourselves down in rage. Throughout our lives, this need shows up in different ways, but the desire is the same: as human beings we need to be listened to, to be validated and to be understood. Whether your birthing plan got thrown out of the window or the birth was seemingly straightforward, childbirth and early parenthood are some of the most transformational, mind and body experiences you can ever undertake, but so often we aren’t afforded the time and space to reflect and reframe those experiences. The pressure to adjust, to be ok, to ignore any difficult emotions and to get on with it can be stifling. The Birth Debrief is here to help. BabyCentre's editorial team is committed to providing the most helpful and trustworthy pregnancy and parenting information in the world. When creating and updating content, we rely on credible sources: respected health organisations, professional groups of doctors and other experts, and published studies in peer-reviewed journals. We believe you should always know the source of the information you're seeing. Learn more about our editorial and medical review policies.Looking after the mental health of pregnant women, new mothers and those who have experienced birth loss or birth trauma is a top priority of the NHS. How you debrief your birth will depend on you and your feelings about what happened. It is a good idea to tell your care providers, ahead of the birth, you’d like to have an opportunity to debrief; this can be put into your birth plan. Ideally you should speak to the care providers who will be present during your labour and birth. We searched databases to find all studies (specifically randomised controlled trials) published before 4 March 2015 that investigated debriefing for the prevention of psychological trauma in women following childbirth. We included seven studies with a total of 3596 women. The studies were published between 1998 and 2005 and all were conducted in high-income countries (UK, Australia and Sweden).

Birth Debriefing – What Is It? - BellyBelly Birth Debriefing – What Is It? - BellyBelly

For a short explanation of why the committee made the recommendations and how they might affect practice, see the rationale and impact section on bed sharing.

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For a short explanation of why the committee made the recommendations and how they might affect practice, see the rationale and impact section on supporting women to breastfeed. After all, isn’t that what women have been doing for a long time? Having babies and just getting on with it? Birth Debriefing – What Is It? We did not find any high quality evidence to inform practice, with substantial heterogeneity being found between the studies conducted to date. There is little or no evidence to support either a positive or adverse effect of psychological debriefing for the prevention of psychological trauma in women following childbirth. There is no evidence to support routine debriefing for women who perceive giving birth as psychologically traumatic. Ayres S, Rados SN, Balouch S. 2015. Narratives of traumatic birth: quality and changes over time. Psychol Trauma. May; 7 (3)@ 234-42 [Accessed July 2015]

Online Self-Referral Form for Birth Experience Debrief Online Self-Referral Form for Birth Experience Debrief

This phase in my life has been physically and mentally exhausting, especially the newborn phase. I am grateful to have been gifted a village comprising of friends and family that are willing to help me with this overwhelm. This book assists with giving one a ‘how to create your own birth plan template’, list of people you can jot down that make up your village, safe spaces, and many other useful resources that can help one plan their support network during this arduous time. Stacey speaks to how her two birth experiences were vastly different, even though they were both unplanned c-sections. The past few generations of women gave birth in a system that ignored the emotional and mental benefits of positive birth. Women were subjected to horrific practices in an attempt to get them through birth painlessly.Unfortunately owing to the restrictions placed upon us due to the Covid-19 pandemic, we have suspended our face to face appointments. You might wish to journal or write down the events you experienced, the questions you asked, and the answers you were given. Ayres S, Claypool J, Eagle A. 2006. What happens after a difficult birth? Postnatal debriefing services. British Journal of Midwifery. 14 (3): [Accessed July 2015] Women who have normal and positive experiences often like to talk about how the labour unfolded, and to fill in any gaps of memory. They usually integrate their birth story into their lives without any problems.