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Flashbacks, Nightmares, and a Constant State of Alert: Understanding Post-Traumatic Stress Response After Birth Trauma
- Karen Law
- Jun 9
- 3 min read
When we think about birth, the stories we hear often focus on joy, celebration, and the arrival of new life. But for many women, birth isn’t just a beginning. It’s a moment that marks the start of ongoing distress, fear, or confusion. If your memories of giving birth leave you shaky, tearful, or unable to sleep, with flashback and nightmares, you’re not alone. You may be experiencing what’s known as a Post-Traumatic Stress Response.
Why I Use the Term ‘Response,’ Not ‘Disorder’
You may have heard the term PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) used to describe the kinds of symptoms that can follow trauma. I prefer to say Post-Traumatic Stress Response, because the word disorder implies something is wrong with you. But trauma is not your fault. This is something that happened to you. And your body’s responses... the flashbacks, the anxiety, the hypervigilance ...are your nervous system’s way of trying to protect you after something overwhelming.
These are not signs of brokenness. They’re signs of survival.
How Birth Trauma Can Show Up Afterwards
Trauma isn’t always about what happened medically during the birth, It’s about how you felt during the experience. Many women describe feeling ignored, frightened, powerless, or unheard. Sometimes birth trauma is linked to emergency situations or intense physical pain, but sometimes it’s the quieter absence of emotional support that leaves the deepest mark.
You may notice:
Flashbacks that seem to come out of nowhere
Nightmares that leave you exhausted
A sense that you’re always on edge or can’t relax
Difficulty bonding with your baby
Feelings of shame, confusion, or guilt
These are incredibly common. They don’t mean you’re failing as a parent, They mean your nervous system is still trying to make sense of what happened.
What Healing from Flashbacks and Nightmares Can Look Like
Healing from birth trauma takes time, but it is possible. Your body, your mind, and your emotions all hold pieces of the story. And they all deserve support.
In my work, I offer gentle, trauma-informed approaches that meet you where you are. We go at your pace. There’s no pressure to talk through the details of your birth unless you want to. Instead, we focus on restoring a sense of safety, choice, and connection: with your body, with your emotions, and with your own inner knowing.
One of the tools I offer is the 3 Step Rewind technique, which is especially effective for those experiencing symptoms like nightmares and flashbacks. It’s a gentle, non-invasive process that doesn’t require you to relive what happened. For a single traumatic event, such as a difficult birth, most people find that just two or three sessions are enough to bring significant relief. Many clients tell me they begin to feel lighter, calmer, and more in control again.
The 3 Step Rewind technique is one of several trauma-informed approaches I offer. It’s ideal when flashbacks or nightmares feel stuck in the nervous system. Because it’s gentle and non-intrusive, it fits beautifully alongside body-based work like massage or QEC. We begin with emotional safety and build from there.
Final Thoughts
If you’re finding it hard to feel safe, to sleep, or to let go of what happened, please know this: you are not alone, and you are not broken. You are having a completely human response to something that left an imprint.
With the right support, it’s possible to soften that imprint: to sleep more peacefully, to feel more at home in your body, and to reconnect with the life you want to live.
While this post focuses on birth trauma, I work with people who are recovering from any experience that has left them feeling stuck in survival mode. Whether your trauma came from medical events, accidents, loss, or something harder to name, your story is welcome here.
How I Can Support You
I offer trauma-informed massage and therapeutic approaches, including 3 Step Rewind, that can help soothe your nervous system and bring your body out of a state of high alert. If you’re ready to explore what healing might look like for you, I’d be honoured to walk alongside you.
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