Petrified of anxiety attack in labour

[Litly83]

Hi, I was wondering if anyone could give me some advice. I already have one DS, shortly after I gave birth to him after a traumatic birth, my heart rate went sky high and I basically thought I was dying. It was due to the shock and anxiety of it all. I'm now considering TTC again and the only thing that is stopping me is the thought of it happening during labour and what if myself or baby are put in danger because of my heart rate being so high. Has this happened to anyone and what would they do? I don't know if I would be able to calm myself down if it happened. How dangerous is it and would I be medicated? Most of my anxiety centers around medical things which I have had counselling and therapy for. Would welcome any advice or opinions.

I worried about this. I had a cesarean to avoid it. No regrets. Happy to answer any questions if this is a route you’re considering

I had hypnotherapy after a traumatic first birth and it helped me enormously with my (much much easier) second.

I paid a hypnotherapist who specialised in birth trauma/fear and had several one on one sessions with her. Recommended.

No real advice but I had the same due to previous SA in a clinical setting.

I flagged it from 8w and pointed out that there were specific triggers for me like being immobilised (ie no epidural) and not crowded. I was still arguing with them after they put the pessary in

I ended up birthing my twins in an incredibly rapid lsbour - both arr inside 20 min - on a shift change when the staff had left me to do paperwork/handover. I am convinced my body was so stressed it stalled labour till I was "safe", ie alone.

Only, Twin1 was born blue and with a snapped cord and needed emergency attention so it wasn't so safe! I strongly feel that if they had listened to my triggers the birth would not have gone like that.

The only thing I can suggest is to request referral to perinatal MH team but they were a fat lot of use to me.

An anxiety attack is not dangerous, but I know from experience it feels like it is. It’s a natural response in your body to a perceived threat, even if the threat isn’t real or doesn’t require that response. The symptoms are horrible, but they will subside without doing any damage. Having health anxiety can make them worse though, as your brain over-reacts to the symptoms. It’s a bit of a vicious circle!
I’d suggest seeing your GP to ask about CBT or similar to help you get control of the fear. You could also try hypnotherapy and perhaps hypnobirthing if you do conceive, which should help you to stay calm and feel more in control. Good luck.