Rewind Therapy
Recovery from birth trauma
The definition of a traumatic birth can be many things and is personal to every mother or father who experiences one. Around 30% of women in the UK experience childbirth as a traumatic event, meaning that you are not alone and are not to blame.
Life with a new baby, as wonderful as it is, can be hard if your birth and post-birth experiences weren’t what you expected or what you had planned for. Perhaps you experienced an intervention that you didn’t want to have, or feared for you or your baby’s welfare. Maybe you felt that you weren’t listened to, or didn’t feel empowered to make decisions during the birth. Or maybe you were not treated with the privacy or dignity you deserved.
How do I know if I am traumatised?
However your labour unfolded, if it didn’t go according to plan, the effects of the trauma can be long-lasting and can hamper your ability to enjoy parenthood. You might feel on high alert, or worried about others touching or holding your baby.
Nightmares, flashbacks and hypersensitivity can also make the trauma feel as if you’re still living it, even though it’s in the past. If you’re pregnant again, you may be anxious and fearful of experiencing the same difficulties again.
You might be a partner of someone who has given birth and don’t feel you have the right to feel traumatised by what you have observed. These are normal and common feelings that many parents experience and help is at hand. If you feel you are traumatised, you don’t need to question whether you qualify for help - taking steps to process your trauma is a brave and positive act of self-care that will benefit both you and your baby.
If this sounds like you, then you are not alone. There is a safe, fast and effective way to deal with your symptoms so you can move on.
How the Rewind Process Works
The refined version of the Rewind Technique, as taught by Human Givens, is a quick and highly reliable treatment that can be used safely at any time during pregnancy, or after the birth of your baby and requires just one session to be effective.
The Rewind process activates your body’s own natural ability to heal through the use of deep relaxation and guided imagery techniques. It is safe, fast and non-intrusive, meaning that you do not need to relive your trauma if you don’t want to. The technique can often de-traumatise disturbing flashbacks very rapidly and alleviate the most severe post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSD), whatever their cause.
I will not be removing any memories from your mind - simply helping you to process and re-file them in a far less distressing form. My aim is for the Rewind process to take your traumatic memory, ‘unhook’ the strong emotions associated with it and turn it into an ordinary memory, thus giving you the opportunity to feel positive and enjoy parenthood.
If you would like to ask questions to find out if this treatment is suitable for you, you can book a free consultation to help you decide.
If you do choose to go ahead, the session itself lasts approximately one hour. I will guide you into deep relaxation, using a combination of imagery and visualisations, which will help you to feel calm, safe and secure prior to starting the Rewind process. Once in this state, you will have the opportunity to reprogramme the way you think and feel about your memory.
Why choose a course with me?
I have extensive physiological knowledge of birth and have witnessed traumatic births of many kinds in various settings. As an experienced NHS midwife and newborn life support instructor, I regularly attend birthing emergencies. My training in hypnobirthing also means I am well practised in teaching breathing, relaxation and visualisation techniques and in making mothers feel comfortable, safe and in control. I have a specialist interest in the traumatic impact of domestic abuse and have implemented training and screening procedures relating to this across my NHS trust.
Further support
The Birth Trauma Association has a team of female peer supporters who have experienced traumatic birth themselves and have come through a process of recovery.
If you would like to talk to them over email about your experience, please contact support@birthtraumaassociation.org.uk or you can join their Facebook group for parents with birth trauma - www.facebook.com/groups/TheBta