#194 | Birth Trauma & PPD Healed Through EMDR and a Redemptive Hospital Birth

When Emma's first baby was one year old, she opened her phone to review her baby's photos and realized she had spent that year completely avoiding looking back at any images from the first three months of her baby's life. It was clear in that moment, she had experienced significant postpartum depression and delayed bonding with her baby, and the photos were a stark reminder of a truth she hadn't been ready to face. Six months later she ruptured her spleen, resulting in a post-traumatic stress response for which she sought out EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing) Therapy. As she worked through her trauma, much of her first birth experience and PPD memories resurfaced.  Later, when she found out she was pregnant again and considered where to birth her next baby, she ran the gamut from a fully medicalized birth to free-birth (unassisted home birth) and landed on a hospital birth with a "unicorn OB." She chose to birth in a hospital because it "scared" her, and was a fear she felt she needed to overcome. Emma was GBS positive and established a "No IV, no antibiotics" birth policy and confidently declined. Her water broke just minutes before she welcomed her eleven pound baby safely into her arms. That's right: Eleven pounds.========Send us Fan MailCozyearth: Use code DTB for 20% offNeeded <-- this link for 20% off your orderDrinkLMNT <--  this link for FREE 8-day supplyPrimally Pure Skincare: Use code DOWNTOBIRTH for 10% off Postpartum Soothe: Organic herbal padsicles for healing. Promo code DOWNTOBIRTHENERGYBits Superfood<--this link for 20% offJoin Patreon for our exclusive contentIG @downtobirthshowDown to Birth ShowCall 802-GET-DOWNWatch full videos of all episodes on YouTube! Please note we don’t provide medical advice. Speak to your licensed provider for all healthcare matters.