Why Birth Story Processing Matters: Understanding the Emotional Layers of Birth
For many, the journey of birth is one of the most significant life events—one that impacts postpartum emotional health in lasting ways. It’s a moment filled with intensity—physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. But what happens after birth? How do we process the story that unfolds in the delivery room, the home birth space, the OR, or wherever our birthing journey took place?
Too often, we don’t.
Instead, we move forward, adjusting to life with a new baby, answering the well-meaning but surface-level question, “How was your birth?” with a brief response. But beneath the surface, many birth stories hold layers of emotion—joy, grief, empowerment, disappointment, or trauma—that rarely get the time and space to be fully processed.
Birth Is More Than a Medical Event—It’s a Story That Lives Within Us
Birth is not just a day or a moment—it’s an imprint. The body remembers what it went through. The mind holds onto details, sometimes looping through them. The heart carries the emotional weight of expectations, surprises, and realities. And the spirit—whatever that means to you—may have been profoundly altered by the experience.
When birth experiences aren’t fully processed, some may notice lingering emotions or patterns, such as:
Mixed or unresolved feelings about the birth, even if everything went “fine”
Heightened emotions around future pregnancies or medical settings
Emotional triggers related to birth, certain environments, or postpartum experiences
A sense of disconnection from the birth story or the body’s experience
Why Processing Birth Stories Matters
Studies show that telling birth stories can be a powerful tool for integration and healing. In one study, researchers found that helping women who experienced unplanned cesarean births to create birth narratives by sharing their stories for 20 minutes alleviated pain and stress in the immediate postpartum period (Simonelli et al., 2018).
Birth events have lasting effects on postpartum emotional health and recovery. Research suggests that birth story processing—whether after a vaginal or cesarean birth—can help reduce the risk of postpartum depression and support maternal mental well-being (Callister, 2004). Encouraging women to share and explore their birth stories can help them integrate both the positive and challenging aspects of their experiences, making it a valuable tool for emotional well-being.
As researcher Lynn Callister notes, the benefits of birth story processing include:
✔️ Integrating a major life event into one’s personal narrative
✔️ Creating space to express fears, concerns, or missing pieces
✔️ Gaining a deeper understanding of personal strengths
✔️ Finding validation and connection with others
Providing a space for women to share their birth stories is not just meaningful—it’s an essential step toward emotional well-being and healing.
What Does It Mean to Process a Birth Story?
Processing a birth story isn’t about rewriting what happened—it’s about understanding the experience and how it continues to live within us, not just in memory but in the body itself. Birth experience integration allows us to honor the emotions and narratives that shape our postpartum journey.
Birth is an embodied experience; it imprints itself in the nervous system, in the way we breathe, in the way we carry tension or ease. It shapes our relationship with our bodies, our emotions, and our sense of self.
Processing means giving ourselves permission to explore the emotions—both expected and unexpected—that birth may have brought up. It means noticing where we hold the experience:
🔸 In the breath that catches when we talk about it
🔸 In the shoulders that tighten when we recall an intense moment
🔸 In the chest that warms when we remember a deep sense of strength
🔸 In the gut that clenches when a piece of the story feels unresolved
It’s an invitation to sit with our birth story in a new way—to gently unfold the layers and integrate the experience into our evolving sense of self—not just as parents, but as whole, embodied beings.
A Space for Reflection & Healing: A Holistic Birth Story Processing Group
Recognizing the profound impact of birth on postpartum emotional health, I created the Holistic Birth Story Processing Group—a one-time, 90-minute group experience rooted in the 4-D Wheel approach developed by Gina Ogden.
In this group, we hold space for the full spectrum of birth experiences—whether joyful, complicated, empowering, or painful. Using the 4-D Wheel as a guide, we explore how birth is woven into our identity, relationships, emotions, and even our spiritual connection to ourselves and those around us.
The 4-D Wheel invites participants to:
🔸 Connect with the body – What did your body experience during birth? How does it hold this memory now?
🔸 Examine thoughts & beliefs – What narratives were shaped by your birth? Which ones empower you, and which ones need reframing?
🔸 Honor emotions – What feelings surface when you reflect on your birth? Joy, grief, loss, power? This is a space to hold them all.
🔸 Acknowledge the spiritual dimension – Whether through intuition, divine guidance, or deep transformation, birth can be a portal to something greater. How did it shape your sense of self and connection?
This is not a traditional birth story circle where stories are simply told. Rather, this is a guided exploration, a process of meaning-making that allows you to integrate your birth experience into the fabric of your life.
Who Is This For?
This group is for anyone who:
✔️ Feels unresolved emotions around their birth experience
✔️ Wants to explore how birth has shaped their identity and relationships
✔️ Seeks a safe, supportive space to process their story
✔️ Desires connection and validation from others with shared experiences
Join Us
📅 Next Session: Monday, February 24, at 7 PM
📍 Location: Salt Synchronicities, 9419 S Union Square Suite C, Sandy, UT
💰 Cost: $60 per participant, limited to 8 participants
📲 How to Register: Sign up for this holistic birth processing group and start your journey toward birth experience integration and postpartum healing.
This group is about more than just telling your birth story—it’s about transforming it.
If this resonates with you—or someone you know—I’d love for you to join us in this space of reflection, healing, and connection.
