Birth Processing

Birth Processing
75 minutes / $125
Recover and heal from a difficult, disappointing, or traumatic birth experience
The experience of having a baby is so very different for everyone. It carries intense emotion and profound transformation. The experience may leave us feeling not quite ourselves, sorting through mixed emotions we don’t know what to do with. This is where birth processing can help. If you have had a difficult, disappointing, or traumatic birth it may take1-2 years following the birth to feel ready to begin unpacking your experience, but it is never too late no matter how long it has been. Even the birth of a healthy baby and an overall positive birth experience may have some pieces that, by themselves, could benefit from processing.

In a birth processing session, a safe and sacred space is created for the retelling of your story. The practitioner uses Reiki and guided meditation to aid the body’s nervous system in moving into a calm and connected state. It is here that the body’s stored, stagnant memories and intense emotions surrounding the birth experience can be found, and felt, and positive pieces of the story can be taken in and deeply felt . We explore what came before the birth experience that holds meaning (parental wounding, feelings of violation, hard experiences) before we facilitate the release. This can help create a clean palate for a current or future pregnancy and birth, or it can help soften intense emotions and help reorient us to who we are after such an expansive experience.  Even if you have chosen not to have more children, carrying the feelings from negative or traumatic experiences may affect many aspects of your life and can benefit from resolution.
These personalized sessions may include the telling of your birth experience, writing exercises, deep and guided questioning, specialized Reiki techniques for trauma release and the option of reviewing your medical records together with someone skilled in birth processing and knowledgeable about birth to help bring clarity to the events that occurred during your labor and birth.
FACTORS THAT MAY CONTRIBUTE TO UNRESOLVED FEELINGS AFTER BIRTH:
  • A long labor, or a very fast painful labor
  • Lack of privacy or dignity
  • Feeling unheard or coerced
  • Fear for baby’s or your own safety
  • NICU stay
  • Previous trauma
  • Not feeling adequately supported
  • Unexpected cesarean birth
SIGNS YOU MAY BENEFIT FROM BIRTH PROCESSING:
​All women can benefit from processing their birth experience, but it can be extremely beneficial for women experiencing any of the following:
  • A lack of confidence with mothering or rejection of your mothering instincts
  • Hyper-vigilance in your care of your baby
  • Feelings of disappointment or emptiness
  • Feelings of failure
  • Anger with your partner
  • Feeling so overwhelmed by the trauma of your birth that you are having a hard time fully expressing your love for your baby
  • Feeling disconnected and ambivalent
  • Feelings of fear or dread regarding future or subsequent pregnancy
REIKI AND BIRTH PROCESSING
The deep state of relaxation that Reiki produces can help get in touch with stored emotions that you may not even realize you are holding on to.  In a birth processing session, the practitioner uses Reiki and guided meditation to shift the body into a calm state that allows the body’s stored memories of the birth experience to be found, felt and released. This can help create a clean palate for a current or future pregnancy and birth.  Even if you have chosen not to have more children, carrying the feelings from negative or traumatic experiences may affect many aspects of your life and can benefit from resolution.

Tiffany Hoffman
Master's in Health Education, Reiki Master, Certified Professional Midwife, LMT

Tiffany began her life changing energetic/bodywork training journey in 2006, the same year she began midwifery school. Both were a huge shift from her previous role working in sports medicine. She brings 13 years of massage therapy experience, and 12 years of attending births in multiple capacities. She values the combination of Eastern and Western medicine in healing.  She is passionate about working with people in all phases of life, and specializes in working with women/birthing people throughout their reproductive lives, from trying to conceive to regaining balance in the postpartum period, as well as healing after a disappointing, difficult or traumatic birth, including miscarriage.  It was her own birth experience that first showed her the power that birth has to shape how we view ourselves and the power it carries for transformation, and she hopes to bring an awareness to the depth and potential for personal growth that accompanies the reproductive lifecycle that is currently missing from the way birth is approached in our country. Tiffany specializes in working with people who have experienced emotional or physical trauma, and has done extensive continuing education to create a trauma-informed and trauma-sensitive practice.