Therapeutic Specialties

Therapy For Birth Trauma in Milford, Ma. In-person & Virtual.

Making space for the story your body still holds.


This page holds space for difficult birth experiences including trauma, loss, and the unexpected. Please read at your own pace.

Up to 1 in 3 people report their birth as traumatic, even when there were no major medical complications.

What happened to you wasn’t your fault- and healing is possible.

What many don’t know is that birth trauma isn’t only about physical danger- it’s strongly linked to experiences like:

  • feeling unheard or dismissed

  • loss of autonomy or consent

  • unexpected interventions

  • lack of emotional support

  • intensity beyond your capacity to process

What I Treat

Common Symptoms of Birth Trauma

The Challenges

Fear, panic, or a sense of terror

Helplessness or loss of control

Grief, disappointment (even when baby is healthy)

Guilt

Shame or self-blame

Irritability or anger

Intrusive memories or flashbacks

Replaying parts of the birth over and over

Feeling on edge, wired, unable to settle

Feeling disconnected from your body, emotions, or the reality of your experience

The Impact

Your body still reacts as if something bad is about to happen

A lingering sense of “that happened to me, I wasn’t part of it”

Feeling like something meaningful or sacred was interrupted or taken from you

Difficulty bonding with the baby

Feeling emotionally distant or overwhelmed by the baby’s needs

Strain in relationships with partners or providers

Difficulty making sense of what happened

Birth trauma can include a wide variety of experiences-

  • Feeling unheard, ignored, or out of control during labor/delivery

  • Emergency procedures without proper consent or explanation

  • Loss (of the baby, of a pregnancy, of the birth experience hoped for)

  • NICU stays and medical complications

  • Preconception trauma, including fertility treatment experiences

  • Traumatic postpartum experiences

It can feel painful and dismissive being told “it could have been worse” or "just be grateful the baby is healthy." Your experience matters, and the right kind of support is available.

Therapy for Birth Trauma- because healing is possible.

Healing isn’t forgetting what happened, pretending it wasn’t traumatic, or forcing yourself to feel okay about it.

Instead, it’s more about how the experience lives in you over time. →

What Healing Is

The memories become less overwhelming or intrusive

Your body doesn’t go into immediate alarm when something reminds you of it

You can think or talk about the birth without spiraling or shutting down

There’s more space for other emotions (not just fear, grief, or anger)

A sense of agency or “I’m back in my body” begins to return

A Somatic Approach to Birth Trauma

Healing at Felt Sense is rooted in Somatic Experiencing (SE) — a body-based approach that works with your nervous system directly, supporting you in completing and releasing stuck survival responses. Because birth trauma lives in the body as much as the mind, SE is especially well-suited to help you find your way back to safety and ease.

I'm Amy Williams — a licensed therapist, somatic practitioner, and someone who understands this terrain from more than one angle.

I work with women in Milford and across Massachusetts who are ready to stop carrying their birth experience alone.

Therapy for Birth Trauma That Fits Your Needs

In-person therapy sessions are held at Felt Sense Psychotherapy in Milford, Ma.

Online therapy is available for women located in Massachusetts. For those nearby, we can also create a hybrid schedule that blends in-person and virtual sessions to best support your lifestyle and needs.

Birth trauma isn’t “stuck” forever- it’s usually a sign that the nervous system didn’t get to fully process or complete what happened. Wherever you are right now- newly postpartum, years out, or somewhere in between- it's not too late. Healing has no expiration date, and support is here when you're ready.