In-person in NYC + Virtual EMDR Therapy for Birth Trauma on the Upper East Side, Midtown, and New Jersey
Birth trauma (whether caused by medical complications, emergency interventions, or feeling unheard during delivery) can deeply affect your nervous system, your relationships, and your sense of safety.
For many, the journey to motherhood is marked by unexpected challenges that leave emotional scars.
As a birth trauma therapist serving NYC and New Jersey, I’ve worked with many women who find themselves reliving the experience, feeling anxious around reminders of birth, or struggling to bond with their baby after a traumatic delivery.
Perinatal Trauma Research
Research indicates that 33–45% of women experience birth trauma, with as many as 9% developing PTSD related to the experience.
Many women say their experience was dismissed or minimized, with all attention shifting to the baby, leaving their emotional needs overlooked. Well-meaning phrases like “At least the baby is healthy” often silence the mother’s invisible pain. The baby was celebrated. The mother’s pain was brushed aside.
As American obstetric nurse and researcher Cheryl Beck puts it:
“Just like beauty, the perception of birth and whether or not it is traumatic comes from the perception of the parent. The parents’ perception can be quite different from the labor and delivery staff’s perception and quite different from the partner’s perception, who is witnessing birth.”
EMDR therapy (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a powerful, evidence-based treatment. It’s designed to help your brain and body process traumatic experiences.
What is Birth Trauma?
Birth trauma isn’t always about what happened medically. It’s about how your nervous system experienced the event.
As a perinatal trauma therapist, I often hear Moms talk about traumatic birth experiences related to
- Feeling dismissed or experiencing a lack of respect and compassion by medical staff
- Loss of control or unexpected interventions
- Emergency C-Section
- NICU stays or medical interventions for the baby
- A partner who froze instead of stepping up
How Does Birth Trauma Impact Mothers
When left unprocessed, birth trauma can quietly shape your entire postpartum experience, affecting how safe, connected, and supported you feel.
And, for many moms, the emotional weight resurfaces during milestones or major transitions, including:
- Experiencing anxiety or dread during a subsequent pregnancy
- Anxiety about your babies safety
- Flashbacks, nightmares, or intrusive thoughts
- Avoiding medical appointments or hospitals
- Feeling emotionally triggered around your baby’s first birthday
- A lingering sense that something “wasn’t right” about your birth experience
How Does EMDR Therapy Help Process Birth Trauma?
EMDR is one of the most researched and effective therapies for trauma. It works by helping your brain reprocess traumatic memories in a way that reduces their emotional charge, so they no longer hijack your present.
Rather than revisiting the trauma over and over again, EMDR helps you move through it. It’s grounded in an 8-phase protocol and a three-pronged approach that targets the past, present, and future. Healing is not just about the memory, but about how it shows up in your body and your life today.
The Eight Phases of EMDR:
- History Taking: We explore your past experiences, identify the root of current symptoms, and assess if EMDR is the right fit.
- Preparation: To establish grounding skills.
- Assessment: Together, we identify specific memories to target, along with the negative beliefs and body sensations that come with them.
- Desensitization: Using bilateral stimulation (such as eye movements or tapping), we begin reprocessing the memories in a safe way.
- Installation: We strengthen a positive, more adaptive belief to replace the old one.
- Body Scan: You’ll tune into your body to notice and clear any lingering distress.
- Closure: Each session ends with grounding and self-soothing techniques to ensure you feel regulated.
- Re-evaluation: In following sessions, we check in on previous targets and explore new areas that may benefit from reprocessing.
Seeking Birth Trauma Therapy in NYC + NJ
Whether you’re still in the early postpartum fog, struggling with flashbacks months (or years) later, or preparing for another birth and feeling paralyzed by fear. If you’re in search of “EMDR Therapy for NYC” and “birth trauma therapy in NYC,” you are in the right place.
