Therapy for Reproductive Trauma
Los Angeles • California • Online
What is reproductive and perinatal trauma? How does living with reproductive trauma affect your life?
Reproductive/perinatal trauma is trauma that is experienced while trying, during, and after becoming a parent. Examples of reproductive/perinatal trauma include (but are not limited to):
An infertility diagnosis, infertility treatments, difficulty getting pregnant, or difficult IVF procedures.
Difficult pregnancies, miscarriage, stillbirth, or other loss of pregnancy.
Trauma throughout pregnancy, birth, or postpartum
Difficult or traumatic birth experience (examples include but not limited to: unplanned c-section, baby going to NICU, and lack of support or other complications during delivery and birth).
Postpartum depression, anxiety, and PTSD.
What all of these experiences have in common is a deep sense of loss that is not honored, visible, and acknowledged in larger society, creating a sense of isolation.
Going through reproductive/perinatal trauma can threaten your sense of self and lead to feelings of grief and shame. It can show up in your body as being hypervigilant, being on edge or irritable, or being numb or shut down. It can impact your sleep, ability to focus, and your relationships.
Having gone through a challenging journey of trying to become a mother and experiencing postpartum anxiety, I know how isolating and painful reproductive trauma can be. You don’t have to go through this alone. I’m here to hold space for you and help you navigate your healing journey so you can begin to feel like yourself again and move forward with more ease and hope.
How does therapy help with navigating infertility?
Provide a safe space to grieve the loss of your reproductive story–how you thought becoming a parent and starting a family would be like.
Honor the grief of having gone through a pregnancy loss or the grief of getting your period after months and years of hoping and trying.
Prepare emotionally for potential fertility treatments and get equipped with tools to take care of your mental health during the process.
Learn how to communicate these feelings to your partner, including how to talk openly, express your needs, and get support from one another.
Discuss how to set appropriate boundaries with people in your life, and how to ask for support.
How Does Therapy Help with Difficult Pregnancies and births? How Does Therapy Help with Postpartum Depression and Anxiety?
Provides you a safe space to tell your story and sort through your thoughts and feelings.
Develop your self-compassion so you can honor the courage you’ve shown on your journey to becoming a parent.
Honor the profound shift that accompanies becoming a parent and understand anxieties and old wounds that may be resurfacing as a result.
Help you tend to your wounds, connect with your inner-child, and honor your needs so you can show up as the parent you want to be.
EMDR therapy can help you reduce your distress connected to traumatic events and provide relief from symptoms of trauma, including hypervigilance, flashbacks, intrusive thoughts, sleep disturbance, worried thoughts, and help you shift negative beliefs so you can move forward with more confidence and ease.