Preventing & Processing Birth Trauma

You have probably heard the statistics about birth trauma…where 1 in 3 birthing people have identified their births as traumatic. And of course, the events that have unfolded through 2020 and 2021 have only exacerbated the cracks in our birthcare system and contributed to higher rates of trauma and PTSD.

It is because of this, that we have a duty to educate ourselves more about trauma so that we understand what it is (and isn’t) and the practices we can put into place to provide trauma-informed care. We acknowledge this is heavy and hard work. But as Krysta Dancy of The Birth & Trauma Support Center shares in this episode “there’s so much to be optimistic about, because every year as we learn more about trauma, we learn how to treat it better.”

Krysta Dancy, MA, MFT, CBD(CBI),
Provider Educator
Maggie Runyon, MSN, RNC-OB

This week’s panel!

Krysta (she/her) is a holistic licensed trauma therapist with almost 20 years of experience in the fields of psychology, trauma and birth. She is the founder and CEO of Dancy Perinatal Inc as well as The Birth & Trauma Support Center- a nation-wide organization dedicated to providing trauma-informed training to providers and professionals. From her lens as a birth and mental health professional, Krysta holds great optimism and warmth for each person in the birth room. Her work and passion is to see trauma-informed medical care become the norm, and to see providers and patients thrive in clinical care. In her office she treats both patients and professionals for a variety of birth and trauma related concerns. (CA MFT #48506). You can follow her work on Instagram.

Trauma gets a bad name, and birth trauma has historically carried a lot of stigma and shame. But what if that’s because we haven’t had a great understanding of trauma? What if that’s because we assume trauma is the result of weakness or that someone is to blame?
We are so grateful to have Krysta join us and share from her nearly 2 decades as a trauma therapist to gain a greater understanding about birth trauma, our role in preventing it, and processing from it.

Join us in conversation as we explore:

~holding space for birth trauma

~identifying birth trauma and differentiating with PTSD

~the impact of the pandemic on experience of birthing people & birth pros

~what aspects of care can be controlled to limit birth trauma

~resetting our empathy & countering fight or flight as birth pros

~how to prepare clients for the realities of birthcare without traumatizing

~why we can be hopeful about treatment for those experiencing birth trauma

To keep up with Krysta’s work: find more workshop information
or check out her online counseling agency or her therapy work,
and learn about Birth & Trauma Support Center

To learn more about birth trauma, please check out these resources:

Facebook support group for birth trauma

Facebook support group for birth and mental health professionals