Psychological Birth Trauma Study

We are currently seeking people who have experienced a psychologically traumatic birth to take part in a research study.

👉Would you describe your birth as traumatic?

👉Did you give birth between 3 and 8 years ago?

If so, we would like to invite you to participate in this study.

🧐Interested in hearing more? Contact me by DM or via email. 📨

The University of Calgary Conjoint Health Research Ethics Board has approved this research study. REB20-1671. Principal Investigator: Dr. Graham McCaffrey

If you volunteer to participate in this study, the researcher will ask you to do the following:

1️⃣ Write your birth story (from pregnancy to transitioning to life with your baby) and share it with the researchers via a Qualtrics survey link.

2️⃣ Participate in a virtual interview about your birth experience and how it has affected your life. The interview will take place via Zoom and will be recorded and automatically transcribed using Zoom software.

🔎If you are interested in hearing more, please contact me by DM or via email. 📨

The University of Calgary Conjoint Health Research Ethics Board has approved this research study. REB20-1671. Principal Investigator: Dr. Graham McCaffrey

What is Psychological Birth Trauma?

Although there are many definitions and "criteria" for a clinical diagnosis, there are also many unknown ways people may experience it.

In this study, we are interested in exploring the different ways women experience and understand traumatic births.

❓Did you feel your or your baby's life were at risk?

❓Did you fear you your baby could be physically harmed?

❓Did you feel your birth was a hard and uncomfortable experience?

❓During birth, did you feel panicked, worried, or helpless?

If you answered yes to any of the questions above, you may have experienced a psychologically traumatic birth.

In this study, we are exploring how women experience births as traumatic, without being prescriptive about what we define as "traumatic". We are hoping women will share what they have experienced as traumatic in order to broaden the current understanding of birth trauma.

We have currently paused our recruitment of study participants as we have potentially reached the maximum number. However, if you are interested in learning more about this study or the results, please contact me by DM or via email. 📨

The University of Calgary Conjoint Health Research Ethics Board has approved this research study. REB20-1671. Principal Investigator: Dr. Graham McCaffrey

Birth trauma is distress experienced by a mother during or after childbirth.

While trauma can be physical (as is the case with birth-related injuries), it is often emotional and psychological.

Birth trauma is not just about what happened during labour and the birth. It can also refer to how you, as the mother, are left feeling afterwards.

That is why have adopted the term Psychological Birth Trauma for this research study. The trauma experienced may or may not include a physical injury.

Psychological birth trauma can be a result of:
👉Long labour or short, very painful labour
👉Induction
👉Poor pain relief
👉Feelings of loss of control
👉High levels of medical intervention
👉Surgical births (forceps, vacuum, caesarean births)
👉Impersonal treatment of problems with staff attitudes
👉Not being listened to
👉Lack of information or explanation
👉Lack of privacy and dignity
👉Fear for baby's safety
👉Stillbirth
👉Birth of a baby with a disability resulting from a traumatic birth
👉Poor postpartum care
👉Previous traumatic experiences

If you have experienced a traumatic birth, you are not alone.

However, if you are currently experiencing distress from a traumatic birth experience, you can call your local crisis line, access support through urgent care, or a community-based counsellor.

In Calgary, AB, the local crisis line offers 24-HOUR SUPPORT by calling: 403-266-HELP (4357).

If you are looking for more general information, support and resources, you can also access the Postpartum Support International helpline by calling/texting: 1-800-944-4773 (4PPD)

Not all births happen as expected.

❓Did you feel your or your baby's life were at risk?

❓Did you fear you your baby could be physically harmed?

❓Did you feel your birth was a hard and uncomfortable experience?

❓During birth, did you feel panicked, worried, or helpless?

❓Would you describe your birth as a traumatic experience?

❓Was your baby born between 3-8 years ago?

If so, we would like to invite you participate in this research study.

We are currently recruiting for our research study exploring how women understand their experience of psychological birth trauma.

🔎If you are interested in hearing more, please contact me by DM or via email. 📨

The University of Calgary Conjoint Health Research Ethics Board has approved this research study. REB20-1671. Principal Investigator: Dr. Graham McCaffrey

Not all births happen as expected.

In fact, few do. Sometimes birthing experiences can take unexpected twists and turns and lead to situations you may have never imagined.

Psychological birth trauma has been hard to define. If you feel like you have had a traumatic birth you may answer yes to any (or all of the following questions).

❓Did you feel your or your baby's life were at risk?

❓Did you fear you your baby could be physically harmed?

❓Did you feel your birth was a hard and uncomfortable experience?

❓During birth, did you feel panicked, worried, or helpless?

We are currently recruiting for our research study exploring how women understand their experience of psychological birth trauma.

If you have experienced a traumatic birth 3-8 years ago and want to share your story, please contact me by DM or via email.

The University of Calgary Conjoint Health Research Ethics Board has approved this research study. REB20-1671. Principal Investigator: Dr. Graham McCaffrey

👋Hi there. I am so glad you found us.

I'm Julia, a Doctoral student at the University of Calgary. I am also a Perinatal Nurse Specialist (RN with a focus on moms and babies).

I have been working with moms/birthing people and their babies for the past 12 years.

After starting my nursing career in labour and delivery, I moved into research and education to learn more about how we can improve the way we care for moms/peoples in labour.

In this research study, I am supported by a team of experts including my supervisor, the Principal Investigator on this study, Dr. Graham McCaffrey (RN, PhD). He has a wealth of experience in mental health nursing and the specific kind of research we are using in this study.

In this study, we are exploring how women understand their experience psychological birth trauma (this can be a traumatic experience WITHOUT any "medical" complications like surgical deliveries or NICU stays).

If you have experienced a traumatic birth 3-8 years ago and want to share your story, please contact me by DM or via email.

The University of Calgary Conjoint Health Research Ethics Board has approved this research study. REB20-1671. Principal Investigator: Dr. Graham McCaffrey

Not all births happen as expected.

Was your birth a traumatic experience? Did it occur 3-8 years ago?

Do you want to share your story?

Contact us via DM or email us at [email protected]

We are currently recruiting participants to share their birth stories in a journal (via an online survey link) and a zoom interview.

The University of Calgary Conjoint Health Research Ethics Board has approved this research study. REB20-1671.

Principal Investigator: Dr. Graham McCaffrey, RN, PhD
Doctoral Researcher: Julia Imanoff, MN, RN, PNC(C)