Conditions that threaten women’s lives in childbirth & pregnancy
Counselling
After having a life threatening condition in pregnancy, Paula had counselling provided at the...
After having a life threatening condition in pregnancy, Paula had counselling provided at the...
Alison was offered counselling while still in hospital. She went for a few sessions when her son...
Alison was offered counselling while still in hospital. She went for a few sessions when her son...
It took Anna almost a year before she felt she needed to seek help after septicaemia (blood...
It took Anna almost a year before she felt she needed to seek help after septicaemia (blood...
Paula asked for counselling when her daughter was about a year old. For her, it was about the...
Paula asked for counselling when her daughter was about a year old. For her, it was about the...
Yes, so that was great. But I do wonder actually because it, it came just at the right time that I was able to go there and kind of unload stuff and I think I unloaded quite a bit of the kind of reserve anger that you kind of have there, about why should this have happened to me, you know, why couldn’t I have had a normal birth and all the rest of it if there is such thing. But you know, what I mean the aftermath was so kind of overwhelming really, that at the time you just work through it, and its only afterwards you kind of think, you know, you stamp your foot a bit and say that was really unfair, that happened to me. You know, and so I was able to do all of that with, with the counsellor then, just at the time I needed it. But I kind of think now, if I’d had to, if I hadn’t have seen her and I had to have waited for however many months it was, how much more severe my symptoms might have got, you know. So that, that concerns me actually that there wasn’t anything you know, more easily accessible, easily available. And although as I say the health visitor had been the one who suggested it way, way back when. I almost kind of think that its still, there’s quite a lot of hoops to jump through to get something. You know, as I say I was lucky that there was a different, there as an alternative route that I could go down and that may not have been on offer to a lot of people, you know, and … you know, it does, you know, make me wonder really.
Alison T was offered counselling from the hospital after her amniotic fluid embolism and...
Alison T was offered counselling from the hospital after her amniotic fluid embolism and...
Karen had post-traumatic stress disorder after her emergency. 2 years on she was still having...
Karen had post-traumatic stress disorder after her emergency. 2 years on she was still having...
About a year after her septicaemia and hysterectomy, Anna started counselling. She explained how...
About a year after her septicaemia and hysterectomy, Anna started counselling. She explained how...
The counselling that Paula finally started about a year after her amniotic fluid embolism really...
The counselling that Paula finally started about a year after her amniotic fluid embolism really...
Although she was offered counselling, Kate did not feel she needed it after she developed HELLP...
Although she was offered counselling, Kate did not feel she needed it after she developed HELLP...
Samantha had pre-eclampsia and her daughter was delivered early and in neo-natal intensive care...

Samantha had pre-eclampsia and her daughter was delivered early and in neo-natal intensive care...
I think in hindsight I wish that I’d gone back to talk to someone about what had happened. Not necessarily the issues of our daughter being in special care, but what happened to me. And I think it would have been good if there’d been some sort of group that I could have gone to of other mothers that had been through something similar. There seems to be lots of help for sort of parents who have got children who are poorly. But there doesn’t seem to be that much discussion about if you’ve been through a difficult birth experience, and whilst I had my NCT post natal group that I spoke with, that was just one, one week out of sort of eight, and then we sort of went on and we were talking about parenting stuff and things like that. And I think yes, in hindsight I would have liked to have been able to talk more about what had happened. Not necessarily to get any real resolution on it, because I understood exactly what had happened, but just to talk about it. And to know that there were other people out there who’d been through difficult experiences.
Sophie and Tom reflected that although they said no when it had been offered, what they both...
Sophie and Tom reflected that although they said no when it had been offered, what they both...
And you know, I’m going back to work and starting to put things behind me a little bit and moving on, and it was actually really good, and its actually been, you know, recently it’s been kind of in the mist a little bit really.
Last reviewed April 2016.