Assistant Professor Encourages Clear Communication with Patients

Every woman's experience with pregnancy and childbirth can differ greatly, with a majority able to move on afterwards with relative ease. However, some women can have a traumatic experience that can affect them years after giving birth. A recent article from The Guardian details the accounts of some of these women who continue to have difficulties after childbirth, as well as how they are using social media to connect with others who have been through the same trauma.

Assistant Professor and OBGYN Dr. Amanda Selk has noticed the use of social media for women seeking to connect with others in the same situation. She encourages those caring for pregnant and postpartum women to provide clear communication and education to their patients to better prepare them for the realities of childbirth.

"Social media has become a common place for women to discuss negative birth experiences and complications," says Dr. Selk. "Women may find comfort in finding others who have had the same experiences. For the majority of women, pregnancy and birth are happy experiences without complications, and women often don't spend a lot of time writing about this online. Women used to attend births of siblings more often while now, birth has become something they see in movies which don't depict the real life experiences. It can be scary to have things that you can't control and there can be a fear of the unknown. Those of us caring for pregnant and postpartum women need to provide balanced education for patients around childbirth, work on communication during emergencies, and learn to support women better who have had difficult experiences."

Click here to read the full article from The Guardian.

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