Building Birth Confidence
Building Birth Confidence is the podcast for anyone who is pregnant after a difficult birth, pregnancy loss, or traumatic experience, and who is scared, exhausted, and trying to find a way through.#
I’m Katie, an NHS Mental Health Midwife and Perinatal Trauma Specialist. Every week I bring you honest, clinically informed conversations about the things that rarely get said out loud: the fear, the guilt, the disconnect, the grief that comes with pregnancy after trauma. And the tools, the understanding, and the realistic hope that can make a real difference.
This is not a positive thinking podcast. This is a podcast for people who need more than reassurance. You deserve support that actually meets where you are.
New episodes every week. Start wherever feels right.
Building Birth Confidence
The Guilt, Shame & Self-Blame Nobody Talks About
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There is a thought that sits quietly underneath the fear for so many people who've been through a difficult birth: this was my fault. In this episode, Katie names it directly - the self-blame, the guilt, the shame - and explains where it comes from, why it isn't the truth, and what to do with it that actually helps.
IN THIS EPISODE:
- The specific self-blame thoughts that come after a difficult birth, named without judgement
- The difference between guilt and shame, and why that distinction matters clinically
- The real barriers to self-compassion for people who've been through trauma
- Why self-compassion isn't self-indulgent, and what it actually feels like to practise it
- A compassionate self-talk practice to try when the self-critical voice gets loud
PRACTICAL TOOL THIS WEEK:
The friend question - when the self-critical voice arrives, ask: what would I say to a friend who said this to me? Then say that to yourself instead.
RESOURCES MENTIONED:
Free Trauma-Informed Birth Plan Workbook | Birthcare with Katie
30-Day Calm & Confident Birth Challenge (free)
https://birthcare.co.uk/30-day-mindset-challenge
Better Birth Anxiety Workbook — The Birthcare Collection
https://birthcare.co.uk/products-list
Birth Without Fear: Essentials for a Better Birth
https://birthcare.co.uk/birth-without-fear
CONNECT WITH KATIE:
Instagram: @birthcarewithkatie
Website: https://birthcare.co.uk/
With compassion,
Katie - NHS Mental Health Midwife | Perinatal Trauma Specialist