Birth Trauma Therapy in Los Angeles & Pasadena, CA, Online Across California
Specialized support for parents navigating birth trauma, traumatic birth experiences, childbirth trauma, and postpartum distress.
Healing After a Traumatic Birth
When Birth Doesn’t Go the Way It Was Supposed To
You expected birth to be intense. Maybe even overwhelming.
But you didn’t expect to still be reliving it, and part of you may wonder why something that’s technically over still feels so present in your body.
Maybe the memories come back when you least expect them. A sound. A smell. A passing thought. Suddenly your body tenses and your heart starts racing.
You may find yourself replaying the birth again and again, trying to understand what went wrong.
You go over the decisions that were made. What the doctors said. What you wish you had done differently.
Part of your mind is still trying to make sense of something that felt chaotic, frightening, or out of your control. And until the nervous system processes that experience, those memories can continue to feel unfinished.
You might also notice that reminders of the birth feel overwhelming. Hospitals, medical appointments, or even conversations about birth can trigger anxiety.
And in quieter moments, the questions creep in.
Did I fail somehow?
Should I have done something differently?
Is my bond with my baby going to be permanently affected?
These thoughts can linger long after the birth itself is over.
For some parents, the trauma is connected to what happened after the birth.
Unexpected complications, emergency interventions, or a stay in the NICU can turn what was supposed to be a joyful moment into something frightening and disorienting. Even when a baby is recovering or doing well now, the experience of not knowing if your baby would be okay and watching monitors and medical teams instead of holding your newborn the way you imagined can leave a lasting emotional impact.
Your feelings about your birth matter.
And you deserve support in making sense of what happened.
After a traumatic birth or NICU experience, you may notice:
intrusive memories or flashbacks
constant anxiety or hypervigilance
emotional numbness
difficulty bonding with your baby
guilt, shame, or self-blame
physical tension or unexplained aches
sleep disruption or nightmares
I created this offering after surviving my own traumatic birth and hearing the stories of countless others who have gone through similar experiences.
As a perinatal mental health specialist (PMH-C), I support parents navigating postpartum adjustment that may include traumatic birth experiences and NICU stays.
I pursued specialized training in EMDR, CBT for perinatal distress, and narrative therapy because of their strong evidence for helping people process reproductive trauma. While the high rates of birth trauma are deeply concerning, I feel hopeful knowing there are effective tools that can help parents process these experiences and move forward.
This work tends to be most helpful for parents who are ready to address the emotional impact of their birth experience and engage actively in the healing process.
One of the most meaningful parts of my work is witnessing someone move from feeling overwhelmed by their birth experience to feeling more integrated, grounded, and connected with their baby.
Why I Offer Birth Trauma Therapy
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Birth trauma is more common than most people realize. Research suggests that up to one in three parents describe their birth experience as traumatic.
Birth trauma describes the emotional and psychological distress that can follow a frightening, overwhelming, or deeply distressing birth experience.
An important truth about trauma is that it is subjective. If something about your birth left you feeling helpless, terrified, violated, or profoundly disappointed, your experience deserves to be taken seriously.
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Birth trauma can affect both the birthing parent and their partner.
Partners can experience trauma as well, especially if they witnessed frightening moments during the birth, emergency medical interventions, complications involving the baby, or felt powerless while someone they love was in danger. Many non-gestational parents felt helpless or overwhelmed during the experience.
Support and trauma processing can be helpful for anyone who experienced the birth as frightening, overwhelming, or out of control.
Why Birth Trauma Often Gets Dismissed
Many parents with birth trauma struggle in silence. After a difficult birth, people often hear comments like:
“At least the baby is healthy.”
“That’s just how birth goes.”
“You should be grateful everything turned out okay.”
While these comments are usually well-intentioned, they can make it difficult to talk honestly about what happened.
Birth trauma often involves moments where someone felt powerless, unheard, or deeply frightened. When those experiences are dismissed or minimized, the nervous system never fully processes what happened.
Therapy creates space to acknowledge the full reality of the experience so your mind and body can finally begin to integrate and heal from what happened.
With the right support, it is possible to reduce your trauma symptoms and begin relating to the experience and your baby differently.
When you’re caring for a newborn, the idea of slowly unpacking your birth experience over months can feel overwhelming.
Birth trauma therapy is designed to help you process what happened so it no longer dominates your nervous system, your thoughts, or your relationship with your baby.
Healing From Birth Trauma Is Possible
Many parents seek support because they want to:
stop reliving the birth over and over again
experience more calm in their body
be more emotionally present day to day
rebuild a sense of connection with their baby
let go of the blame they carry about what happened
Birth trauma therapy helps you move from survival mode back into your life as a parent.
Your healing begins with a comprehensive assessment to understand the nature and impact of your birth experience. During this session you will also learn practical coping strategies that can stabilize symptoms right away.
From there we may use approaches such as:
EMDR to help your brain process traumatic birth memories
CBT to address painful beliefs that often develop after traumatic births
Narrative therapy to help integrate the birth into your parenthood story
Birth trauma therapy can be done as a stand-alone service, incorporated into weekly therapy, or offered in therapy intensives designed to accelerate progress. We can talk through these options during your consultation.
The goal is not to erase the birth experience.
The goal is to help your mind and body process and integrate what happened so it no longer hijacks you.
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Reduce flashbacks, nightmares, and intrusive memories
Feel calmer and less constantly on edge
Process traumatic memories from emergency birth experiences or NICU stays
Release guilt and self-blame about the birth
Feel more present and connected with your baby
Rebuild trust in your body
Approach future births with greater clarity and confidence
Frequently Asked Questions About Birth Trauma Therapy
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Birth trauma is subjective. Meaning, if you experienced distress, fear, or helplessness during your birth experience, your reaction is valid.
Research suggests that up to one in three parents describe their birth as traumatic. If your birth experience continues to affect your emotional wellbeing, this therapy can help.
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Many parents who seek birth trauma therapy worry about this. The birth is over. The baby is here. Life has moved forward.
But trauma does not follow a timeline.
When a birth experience overwhelms the nervous system, the mind and body can remain stuck in survival mode long after the event itself is over. This is not a weakness or something wrong with you. It is how trauma works.
With the right support, your nervous system can process what happened and begin to settle again. For many parents, that shift allows them to finally feel more present in their daily life and more connected with their baby, spouse, and other loved ones.
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The good news is you don’t have to share every detail about your painful memories or distressing experiences in order to heal.
Trauma happens when something is “too much and too fast” and I am mindful of not replicating this experience in our work. I will be intentional about tailoring your sessions to accommodate your edges and capacity to process.
In addition, EMDR is a modality that allows trauma to be processed without discussing every painful moment.
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Yes. Watching a newborn receive medical care, navigating uncertainty about your baby’s health, and feeling separated from your baby can all be deeply distressing experiences.
Birth trauma therapy can help process the memories and emotions connected to NICU experiences so they no longer feel as overwhelming.
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Yes. Processing a previous birth experience can significantly reduce anxiety about an upcoming delivery.
In addition to trauma processing, we can also focus on preparation and future templates so you feel more resourced and confident heading into your next birth.
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Yes. Birth trauma therapy can be incorporated into ongoing therapy or an intensive with me, or used as a focused adjunct to work you are already doing with another therapist.
You Don’t Have to Keep Reliving Your Birth
A traumatic birth can leave your mind and body stuck in survival mode. And, healing is possible.
With the right support, you can process what happened, feel more settled in your body, and begin experiencing early parenthood in the way you hoped you would.
That includes feeling more present, more grounded, and more connected with your baby.
