Patients
“Trauma is an experience that overwhelms our capacity to have a sense of control over our bodies and our immediate environment, maintain connection with others, and make meaning of our experience."*
Sometimes a woman enters their labor and delivery with a history of prior heartbreaking and upsetting experiences. These experiences may include abuses that have happened throughout her childhood including rape or sexual assault. They could be the result of a previous traumatic birth. A woman's past history of sexual trauma or PTSD may make her more likely to experience seemingly common events of labor as traumatic. The consequences of a distressing birth experience can affect a woman's health both physically and psychologically, and may interfere with her ability to interact with her baby.
The Empowerment Equation is a place for help. It is a place to share your story of a painful event with others, and to offer solutions and suggestions as to what went right during your labor and delivery experience. It is also a place for those with a history of prior sexual trauma to reach out for help in preparation for labor and delivery. To do so optimizes the chances of achieving a positive birth experience.
What we hope to achieve is "a better patient experience, one story at a time."
For more insight into The Empowerment Equation's Mission, we suggest the following book:
Simpkin Penny, Klaus Phyllis. When Survivors give Birth. Copyright May 2015. Classic Day Publishing.
Please feel free to contact us to share your story or to get additional resources for preparing for your child's birth.
* PAAR (Pittsburgh Action Against Rape) 2018
The Empowerment Equation is a place for help. It is a place to share your story of a painful event with others, and to offer solutions and suggestions as to what went right during your labor and delivery experience. It is also a place for those with a history of prior sexual trauma to reach out for help in preparation for labor and delivery. To do so optimizes the chances of achieving a positive birth experience.
What we hope to achieve is "a better patient experience, one story at a time."
For more insight into The Empowerment Equation's Mission, we suggest the following book:
Simpkin Penny, Klaus Phyllis. When Survivors give Birth. Copyright May 2015. Classic Day Publishing.
Please feel free to contact us to share your story or to get additional resources for preparing for your child's birth.
* PAAR (Pittsburgh Action Against Rape) 2018