The Holding Approach to Birth Trauma

This 2.5-hour clinical training explores birth trauma through contemporary trauma-informed, attachment-based, and experiential frameworks, including Karen Kleiman’s The Art of Holding model. Participants will deepen their understanding of birth trauma as extending beyond adverse obstetric events to the mother’s subjective experience - moments of perceived threat, loss of agency, dismissal, or emotional isolation, even in medically “routine” births. The course reviews key risk factors for postpartum PTSD (PP-PTSD) and equips clinicians to identify common post-birth trauma presentations, including PTSD symptoms, subthreshold trauma responses, and their overlap with postpartum mood and anxiety disorders. Clinicians are then offered a practical framework for supporting mothers through safety, attunement, expertise, and emotional containment, while helping them mindfully revisit and integrate traumatic birth experiences without retraumatization. The training also examines how unresolved birth trauma can shape maternal self-representation, early mother–infant relationships, and caregiving confidence - underscoring the importance of early identification and intervention, with particular attention to experiences of medical neglect, unexpected interventions, stillbirth, and loss. Designed for maternal mental health professionals, this course integrates theory, research, and clinical application to support trauma-informed, compassionate care. *Please note: In order to maintain a safe, interactive space, honoring participant privacy and real-time connection, our trainings are not recorded. 2.5 CE hrs The Postpartum Stress Center, LLC has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7461. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. The Postpartum Stress Center, LLC is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.