When Birth Becomes Trauma: How One Mother Reclaimed Control

(BPT) - At 26 weeks pregnant in 2022, Azhia Kirk was rushed into an emergency delivery where everything happened in an instant — without explanation or time for her to process — leaving her scared and alone. Under general anesthesia, she missed the birth of her daughter, Sloane, entirely. When she woke up, her baby was already in the neonatal intensive care unit, where she remained for 113 days.

The experience left Azhia with profound psychological and physiological trauma, including distressing memories and fears. The idea of another pregnancy felt overwhelming. She and her husband, Brent, wanted a second child, but as Sloane approached her first birthday, Azhia realized she needed support to process her delivery experience. She found help through trauma-informed care provided by obstetric anesthesiologist Tracey Vogel, M.D., director of the Perinatal Trauma-informed Care Clinic at Allegheny Health Network, Pittsburgh. Dr. Vogel screened Azhia for anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), with which she was ultimately diagnosed; helped identify triggers from her experience; and connected her to peer support and a program that supported healing through music therapy called the Lullaby Project. She worked closely with Azhia's obstetrics team, who understood her past trauma and saw her more frequently in the early stages of her second pregnancy.