Kristy had long coped with anxiety and depression by staying busy, but after infertility, birth trauma, and a decline in postpartum mental health, those familiar coping strategies no longer worked. As she struggled with the stillness of motherhood, an unexpected ADHD diagnosis reframed everything she thought she knew about herself.

Dayna’s story reflects what it can feel like when trauma compounds. After a complicated emergency caesarean and separation from her baby, she was left without the newborn bubble she had hoped for. What followed was ongoing anxiety, panic, rage, and hypervigilance, alongside D-MER and the lasting impact of birth trauma within a strained health system.

After a traumatic first birth, Laura entered her second pregnancy hoping for a different experience — a ‘redo’. But complications and a precipitous labour led to a second postpartum marked by flashbacks, insomnia, panic, and depression — an undoing rather than a redoing. Laura reflects on the impacts of birth trauma, and the process of rebuilding with the support she was able to access.

Monique’s birth may have been quick, but its complications and long-term impacts were anything but. Following a traumatic birth, severe complications, and a near-death experience, she was left navigating the physical and psychological aftermath, which she describes as a ‘storm’ she is still weathering. Monique reflects on the realities of birth trauma and the supports that have helped her feel less alone.

Like many mothers, Sarah struggled during pregnancy to distinguish between normal symptoms and something more serious. With a history of health anxiety and chronic illness, this uncertainty was heightened — and at 35 weeks, her concerns were validated when she developed severe pre-eclampsia and nearly died. Sarah reflects on the trauma of a life-threatening pregnancy complication, the challenges of bonding with her baby afterwards, and the role of support and planning in recovery.

As a self-confessed ‘flaming extrovert’, Lauren struggled with the isolating and repetitive rhythm of early motherhood. With a history of IVF, miscarriage, pregnancy complications, and traumatic births, the intense love she felt after both births was overshadowed by the onset of postpartum depression by six months postpartum.