3 Step Rewind

Do you regularly find that you replay the birth of your baby over and over in your head? 

Perhaps instead you experienced difficulties during pregnancy, or following the birth of your baby that keep returning to haunt you?

Are there past experiences or phobias preventing you from trying for a family, despite wanting nothing more?

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At Birthscapes I specialise in supporting clients who have experienced perinatal difficulties or trauma, as well as phobias that continue to affect them and weigh heavy using the 3 Step Rewind Technique. 

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3 Step Rewind is a gentle and effective process where someone is guided into a state of deep relaxation and powerful changes take place reducing or even removing the trauma or phobia response altogether.
The technique works by allowing the individual, whilst in a safe relaxed state, to reprocess the traumatic / difficult memory so that it is shifted in the brain from the amygdala to the neocortex. It is then stored as an 'ordinary' and non- threatening memory rather than one that continually activates the fear response. 

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3 Step Rewind and perinatal difficulties:

As many as one in five women develop a mental illness during pregnancy or in the first year after birth. Yet so many women / birthing persons will not even be accounted for as we slip through the net,  particularly where there are no previously diagnosed mental health difficulties and without any specific birth or perinatal trauma assessments completed via the NHS. 

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Perinatal trauma includes but is not limited to:

• Fertility difficulties 

• Miscarriage / loss 

• Pregnancy

• Birth 

• Postnatal difficulties 

• Breastfeeding difficulties / grief

• Perinatal / Postpartum mental health 

• NICU support

• Experiences as an expectant or new parent as a result of the pandemic 

• Tokophobia / fear of needles / fear of hospitals and other related phobias

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Within the UK alone it is estimated that around 30,000 women each year experience diagnosable birth trauma (PTSD) and that over 200,000 women would describe their experience as traumatic.

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Birth trauma may relate to:

• Physical trauma (baby / mum / birthing person)

• Not being listened to / being ignored

• Birthing alone / without support of partner or other chosen person

• Coercion

• Lack of privacy / dignity

• High levels of medical intervention

• Poor pain relief

• Lengthy labour / short and painful labour

• Induction

• Fear for baby's safety / life

• Stillbirth

• Poor postnatal care

• Previous trauma (e.g. childhood, previous birth, domestic violence)

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It has been found that almost half of women who start out breastfeeding in the UK, have stopped by six weeks. As many as 90% of these women report that they were not ready to stop, and would have liked to continue their journey with the appropriate support. For many women any mention of breastfeeding reminds them of physical and emotional pain, anxiety and a lack of support. 

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Any trauma whether relating to birth or the wider perinatal period is likely to cause psychological distress, intense fear, a sense of helplessness, increased risk of anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (BMC Psychiatry, 2021). Yet globally, women are so often expected to shoulder these difficulties and told that "as long as baby is healthy that's all that matters", or "other people go through this too". And whilst this may be the case, this does not take away the heartache, sadness, regret, anxiety or fear that we may experience and although we may try to push those feelings down and ignore the memories, this can often lead to them coming back far louder and affecting us in so many ways, often by:

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• Re-experiencing symptoms (including flashbacks, intrusive thoughts, reoccurring dreams or nightmares, or a feeling of continually re-living the event)

• Avoidance symptoms (avoiding any associated reminders of the trauma including pushing away conversations or thoughts, loss of memory about certain aspects of the trauma, detachment or numbness, a feeling of hopelessness about the future)

• Increased arousal (difficulty falling / staying asleep, irritability, anger, hyper-vigilance, feeling jumpy, difficulty concentrating)

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You matter and your experience matters!  

It is so very important to tackle any trauma or heaviness that continues to pervade in order to be the person we want to be and the parent our children deserve. 

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The 3 Step Rewind process is extremely effective and gentle, and is generally complete over 3 sessions. As such, I offer single online sessions at £65 each or my online package consisting of 3x sessions and mp3 relaxation at £150. 

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I find that my clients contact me often rating the intensity of their trauma / experience as somewhere between 6-10/10 and by the end of our three sessions this reduces to around 0-3/10, providing a significant difference. The memory remains but no longer results in the same reaction. 

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My clients often find this is the first time they have really had the opportunity to tell their story in a safe and private space without judgement, where they are listened to and really heard, providing so much validation and comfort in itself.

 

I frequently receive feedback from my clients where they report feeling lighter, more positive, present, and more easily able to interact in the way that they want with their children and loved ones, moving forwards with a newfound sense of optimism and hope... a feeling that the weight previously burdening them has been lifted and released. And what's more, it is never too late to 'Rewind' whether weeks, months or even decades later. 

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