A Talk About Secondary Trauma for Birth Workers

Jul 8

Written By BADT

by Mar J.

Dear Reader,

As birth workers, we are friends, advocates, chosen family, magical humans, medicine, and care workers for the many communities in which we reside. We know the endless possibilities of the wondrous and challenging things we can experience within our work.

This letter is an invitation, my love letter to you; may it serve as a reminder that you are valued and cherished wholeheartedly. But most importantly, your mental health and well-being must be priorities. Due to the nature of the intensive work that we do, nourishing these parts of ourselves is necessary.

May you continue to be seen for the important work that you do.

So Let us Talk about Secondary Trauma

What is secondary trauma exactly?

Per this quote by Osofsky, Putnam & Lederman, secondary trauma is defined as a “compassion fatigue, or secondary traumatic stress disorder, which is a natural but disruptive by-product of working with traumatized clients. It is a set of observable reactions to working with people who have been traumatized and mirrors the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).”

Secondary trauma is also referred to as vicarious trauma.

Secondary trauma can develop through being in proximity of someone who may have encountered the traumatic event. For birth workers some possible causes for the development of secondary trauma include the following: supporting a client who is going through an intense postpartum depression (PPD); observance of a client experiencing a difficult birth or complicated pregnancies, or witnessing obstetric violence or medical malpractice, just to name a few.

In Secondary Traumatic Stress and Moral Injury in Maternity Care Providers: A Narrative and Exploratory Review, we learn that secondary trauma affects at least 25% of maternity staff (Kendall-Tacket, Beck, 2022). This results in negative impacts such as burnout, impaired work performance, decreased motivation, and possible loss of interest in birth work.

Administration for Children & Families claims symptoms of secondary trauma are said to be an enmeshment of cognitive, behavioral, emotional, and physical signs. A few common symptoms of secondary trauma are the following:

Emotional Signs: guilt, anger, helplessness, numbness, and grief/feelings of loss
Behavioral Signs: withdrawal/self-isolation, disruption of sleep, heightened alertness/vigilance, and, changes in eating habits/appetite
Cognitive Signs: decreased concentration, excessive fixation of trauma, excessive attachment to perfectionism (that may lead to possible harm to self or others etc)
Physical Signs: muscle and joint pain, difficulty breathing, experience of frequent increased heart rate (possibly anxiety), weakened immune system.

Keep in mind that these symptoms are just a few of many.

Remember each individual’s response to trauma is uniquely shaped as a result of their own experiences and stories.

In addition, secondary trauma symptoms are usually aligned with symptoms similar to PTSD when navigating secondary trauma as birth workers.

Navigating Secondary Trauma as Birth Worker

So what can YOU do as a birth worker or care worker to either prevent or navigate secondary trauma? The following list includes some of my favorite ideas that you can do in your own home:

Journaling: Allow this to be a place in which you can process, reflect, and document the things that are on your mind.

Movement: This may be an invitation to release and move what may be “stagnant” in the body. Any kind of movements that you enjoy and are accessible to your body are good options. This can include small movements like neck rolls or massaging your own feet or it may be bigger, whole-body movements like dancing or walking or swimming.

Rest: Practice and integrate more ways of rest in your daily life - however that may look. This includes sitting outside in the sun, napping, reading a good book, taking a bath, and any other activities you rest restful and rejuvenating.

Build boundaries: This is the practice of honoring what you have the capacity for. Learning when to say yes and when to say no is highly valuable. It’s crucial to get familiar with your limitations and needs in times of stress or overwhelment. Additionally, learning when to ask for help and who to ask for help can be part of boundaries practice.

Create pauses: Implementing moments of pause into your day-to-day is another helpful practice. Ideas include: going into the bathroom at work to breathe, briefly removing yourself from the busyness of your day for a moment to look out the window, or going into the hall do give yourself time to reground.

Connect with peers: It’s important to be mindful about not trauma-dumping on fellow birth workers; however, if they consent and have capacity, sharing and processing in community—especially with folks who deeply understand the work you are doing—can be supportive.

Seek professional support: I invite you, though, during the times in which things become unbearable or impacting your daily living, to seek more support as you see fit. If the impact of this work becomes overwhelming or you experienced something highly activating, it may be time to seek care from a professional. This may be a community crisis center, individual or group therapy, or other therapeutic outlets.