Traumatic births are thankfully not all that common, however, around 4 percent of women in the United States will end up having a birth that could be considered traumatic. When this happens, it can be really are for women to come to terms with what has happened to them.

If you are one such woman who has undergone a traumatic birthing experience, and you are finding it hard to cope with what has happened to you, below are a few things that might help:

Don‘t judge yourself

One of the worst things you can do when you are struggling with a traumatic birth experience is to judge and blame yourself. You can do everything right and your birth can still end up being traumatic because it is simply not possible to control every aspect of the birthing experience. You did all you could do and you should stop judging yourself right now.

Get help

Talking to a therapist about the birthing experience and how it has made you feel can be extremely helpful, but it is not the only way to get assistance. Talking to a birth injury attorney who may be able to help you if you believe your birthing experience was caused by negligence can be a good way to feel like you have some control back, as can talking to the attending physicians in a bid to understand more about what your birth turned out the way it did.

Join a support group

In a similar vein, it might be worth joining a support group for women who have had similar birthing experiences to you. Knowing you are not the only one and seeking emotional support from people who really understand can help you to come to terms with your experience a whole lot faster than many other things you could try

Bond with your baby

Some women find it difficult to bond with their babies after a traumatic birth and this is okay. However, you should keep trying. Spend as much time as you can manage with your baby and eventually you will start to see progress. But, don’t be afraid to hand him or her over to dad or grandma if things get too much. It can take time and that is just fine.

Give it time

Time is the best healer and that is just as true for birth trauma as it is anything else. Do not push yourself or feel like you have to be okay right now because you have been through a really rough time and it is expected that you might find things hard at first.

It can take a lot of time and a lot of effort to come to terms with a traumatic birth experience, but if you are gentle with yourself and you work to unravel what has happened to you, it is totally possible to come to terms, start coping g better with your experience, and to ultimately overcome what is causing you so much distress right now.