Trauma-Informed Support During the Perinatal Period Content note: This article discusses childhood sexual abuse and its impact on mental health during pregnancy and postpartum. Childhood sexual abuse can have long-lasting effects on a woman’s emotional and physical well-being, sometimes resurfacing during pregnancy, childbirth, or the postpartum period. This article explores how early trauma may influence perinatal mental health and offers supportive, non-judgmental guidance

Content Note: This article discusses sexual abuse and its impact on pregnancy, birth, and postpartum mental health. Please read gently and take care of yourself. Sexual abuse — whether a single assault or long-term childhood trauma — can quietly shape the emotional landscape of pregnancy, birth, and early motherhood. Many survivors do not initially connect past trauma with their perinatal mental health. Yet pregnancy, labor, breastfeeding, medical exams, and the profound vuln