Childbirth Distress: A Call for Professional Engagement

Abstract

<jats:p> Among women who give birth, roughly half describe their birth experiences as traumatic. Childbirth trauma is a topic of growing global interest for health and mental health professions. However, social work remains peripheral in this emerging area of scholarship and practice. This article presents a portion of findings from recent feminist narrative social work research exploring women’s narratives of their experiences of emotional distress in childbirth to illustrate the need for increased professional engagement with this important social issue. Analysis of participants’ narratives illustrates how Foucault’s discourse and power/knowledge can be useful in understanding the subtle social forces that shape birth experiences which may result in emotional distress. In this article, I argue the topic of childbirth distress falls within the reproductive rights framework and should be of importance to social workers. The findings presented below are discussed in the context of the International Federation of Social Workers’ ethical principles and its policy statement on women to support this position. </jats:p>

Supply Chain Operations in the Arctic

“…Risk associated with this model include infection and sometimes unnecessary cesareans, illustrating the trade-off for lower-risk birth situations, notwithstanding latent costs of overlooked cultural safety. Some hospitals have begun to offer non-medicalized features for low-risk mothers laboring there, but authority for decision-making in this model still lies within bureaucratic institutions (that is hospitals) and reflects the power and knowledge dynamics associated with fear and stress in childbirth (MacDougall, 2020).…”

Enacting Feminist Methodologies in Research Toward Reproductive Justice

“…Both live and work in New Brunswick, the technical jurisdiction where the research is taking place, but approximately 2 hours away from Fredericton, the city in which the only midwifery practice in the province is located. This project was originally conceived of as a next step to CM's doctoral work regarding childbirth distress (MacDougall, 2020). She had originally imagined a project exploring the barriers to perinatal mental health support in the region and reached out to the midwives working in Fredericton to explore the possibility for collaboration.…”

Case Studies of Intimate Partner Violence, Immigration-Related Stress, and Legal Violence During Pregnancy in the U.S.-Mexico Border Region

“…The case study approach shows depth through these women’s experiences, which fosters a clearer understanding of the complexity of how the law can generate harm. Understanding these women’s experiences can inform various community programs that work with immigrant communities, survivors of IPV, and women’s reproductive health, as there is a need for more professional engagement in women’s experiences of emotional distress during pregnancy, birth, and the postpartum period (MacDougall, 2019).…”