What actually helps after a traumatic birth
Including one popular recommendation that the evidence does not support.
Early structured psychological treatment has good evidence: effects from 0.55 to 0.95 on a standard scale, where 0.8 counts as large. Two sessions of EMDR reduced probable post-traumatic stress from 39.2% to 11.1% in one randomized trial. Routine debriefing alone does not have evidence behind it. In the United States, Postpartum Support International runs a free helpline at 1-800-944-4773.
Where this comes from:
257. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Caring for patients who have experienced trauma. ACOG Committee Opinion No. 825. Obstet Gynecol. 2021;137(4):e94-e99.
266. Dekel S, Papadakis JE, Quagliarini B, Pham CT, Pacheco-Barrios K, Hughes F, et al. Preventing posttraumatic stress disorder following childbirth: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2024;230(6):610-641.e14.
267. Bastos MH, Furuta M, Small R, McKenzie-McHarg K, Bick D. Debriefing interventions for the prevention of psychological trauma in women following childbirth. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2015;(4):CD007194.
365. Hendrix YMGA, van Pampus MG, Hofman A, Henrichs J, van der Horst HE, de Jongh A. Treatment of traumatic birth experience with postpartum early eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy: a randomized clinical trial. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2025;233(6):654.e1-654.e25.
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