Articles on Birth Trauma

which occurs when women have frightening or insensitive birth experiences that lead to psychological issues. Some have gone so far as to call it birthrape, and I have to say that, sadly, drawing on my experiences as an OB nurse and as a rape crisis volunteer, I've seen many incidents that justify the term.

An article from Lamaze...

an article from the Wall Street Journal (oddly enough)...

and one from a small Indiana paper which references the WSJ article, but gives the issue a much more human face.

Whenever people say, "The only important thing in birth is that you get a healthy mom and a healthy baby," I am quick to correct them that those may be the MOST IMPORTANT things, but they're not the ONLY important things, not by a long shot. And these articles are testimony to the fact that that when "everything else"--a sensitive provider, a comfortable setting, respect and privacy and autonomy and dignity--is swept under the rug, you can end up with a very traumatized mother and thus a shortchanged baby. In 2008, in the United States, merely surviving birth without any major injuries or infections is setting the bar way too low.

Or (unfortunately) is it?