Birth Trauma Counselling

We are here to help women start their own healing process

Book adaptation

Logline

Three women try to survive the after effects of industrialized birthing practices. They and their children are traumatized by the experience, and one of the women…
Real Healing is the true story of Martha Jesty, her journey, and the journey of women like her around the world suffering from Post Natal PTSD. In the tradition of “North Country,” “Erin Brokovitch,” and “Norma Rae” comes a story about the difference one person can make.

The story

Martha, Celia, and Sheila are women about to have children. Two of them will survive with the scars of a cold, modern medical system. One of them will take her own life in Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. This is their story.
Martha is on top of the world. She’s knighted by the Queen of England, a proud wife and mother, and the successful proponent of an international organization to help mothers and families survive Post Natal PTSD. But it wasn’t always this way. And it’s not that way for most women suffering from this illness.
Celia is one of those women, and so is Sheila. Celia lives in Lima where she takes care of her daughter Rosario. But Rosario isn’t her only child. She has a son, Anderson, who was kidnapped by his…..
Sheila wasn’t so lucky. After a very traumatic first birth with forceps and little follow-up care, she re-lives her trauma day after day with constant flashbacks……Sheila finds a way out of her torment by ….
Martha was once in Sheila’s shoes. With only herself and her husband as a resource, she began to mentally crumble. She came to the point where her child became her enemy. She even thought about …

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 book adaptation

Publisher:

Pub. Date:
Category:
 
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Pages:
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ISBN:

Help Women Ltd

October 2006
Health, Family & Lifestyle, Women,
  Counsellng, Self Help
 English & Spanish versions available
 202, paper cover
£14.99
978-0-9553770-0-6

Author's biography

Testimonies

Martha, I am writing to put forward my heartfelt appreciation for the work you are doing within the local community for women like me who have suffered from PTSD. I believe that your book Real Healing after Caesarean is a must read for health practitioners and community groups who work with women’s issues and concerns. read more testimonies

Review

I have always been aware that childbirth is one of the most life changing experiences a woman can go through. I have always been aware that childbirth is different for every woman. Although I was aware of these things, and having being fortunate enough to have a good labour experience, I was not aware of the extent of the serious effects childbirth could have on a woman. Real Healing after Caesarean by Martha Jesty opened my eyes to a world of women for whom the dream of a ‘good labour experience’ was brutally shattered and destroyed, leaving them with devastating and often long term effects if left untreated. The title of Martha Jesty’s book cannot be taken at face value. It is not a book of one woman simply relaying her traumatic birth experience as a process of venting her hurt and frustrations, far from it. What I discovered is that Real Healing after Caesarean is a book through which one woman uses her candid and unabashed account of her experience and recovery to do four key things. ....read more

Real Healing After Caesarean

Synopsis

Cover RHAC resized

A survivor from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder-PTSD, Martha Jesty recalls explicitly all the feelings, fears and frustrations that she experienced with the birth of her first child. Any PTSD survivor will find comfort reading Real Healing After Caesarean knowing that someone has captured in words their exact feelings at the time. Filled with information on how to recognize symptoms of PTSD and other postnatal illnesses Real Healing After Caesarean will show women the way to recovery when they feel there is no hope and are suffering in silence. As a Christian herself, Martha raises very important issues and expresses her concerns to the NHS and other health organizations, giving tips for family members and friends as well as Christian leaders on how to improve their performance when finding a sufferer at home or church.

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Description

It is estimated that there are about 10,000 women every year in the UK suffering from deep trauma after childbirth but the NHS is not ready yet to implement a care programme for these women and their families. Real Healing After Caesarean is the first manual written in the UK by a postnatal PTSD* survivor which will help many women sufferers. Real Healing After Caesarean includes extensive new research on this topic and will guide health professionals and midwifery students to a deeper understanding of this illness, becoming an invaluable source of information and reference. Included are chapters recognizing different types of post natal illnesses focusing on a wider description of Post Natal PTSD. Real Healing After Caesarean by Martha Jesty covers issues of abortion, Vaginismus (physical impossibility of having sex) Tokophobia (fear of becoming pregnant), baby and mother bonding as well as displaying charts for women to assist in monitoring their own steps to recovery. The result is an essential book for all health professionals, Christian leaders, as well as for women who can’t find their own path to recovery.

Book review by a professional counsellor

Media Cover

Book born out of painPostnatal expert to the hillsMum pushes for more helpHelping women with stressful births

Birth Trauma Counselling is a project from Help Women and Children, a non-profit UK organization helping women traumatized by childbirth. Help Women and Children is a charitable company limited by guarantee in England and Wales No. 5959138 based in Surbiton, Surrey, UK