Specifically, adults with a high genetic risk whose mothers had complications during pregnancy were about five times more likely to develop schizophrenia than individuals with similar genetic risks but no pregnancy complications.

Postpartum psychosis is a serious mental health illness that can affect someone soon after having a baby. It affects around 1 in 500 mothers after giving birth. Many people who have given birth will experience mild mood changes after having a baby, known as the “baby blues”.

Below are some helpful tips and strategies to help you to recover from a difficult birth experience.

1. Do not judge yourself.
2. Seek practical support.
3. Seek out and accept emotional support.
4. Acknowledge the feelings you may have toward your baby.
5. Talk to someone.
6. Consider the impacts upon your relationship.

Research shows that even infants are affected by and can remember events that threaten their sense of safety. A response such as PTSD following a traumatic event is not about the event itself, it is a result of the perception of powerlessness that was sensed by the infant.

The following are common birth injuries:

• Brachial palsy. This occurs when the group of nerves that supplies the arms and hands (brachial plexus) is injured.
• Bruising or forceps marks.
• Caput succedaneum.
• Cephalohematoma.
• Facial paralysis.
• Fractures.
• Subconjunctival hemorrhage.

Head and brain injuries during birth Head injury is the most common birth-related injury. Head molding is not an injury. Molding refers to the normal change in shape of the baby’s head that results from pressure on the head during delivery.

Ten common labor complications

• Failure to progress.
• Fetal distress.
• Perinatal asphyxia.
• Shoulder dystocia.
• Excessive bleeding.
• Malposition.
• Placenta previa.
• Cephalopelvic disproportion.

It was estimated that in 2015, a total of 303,000 women died due to causes related to pregnancy or childbirth. The majority of these causes were either severe bleeding, sepsis, eclampsia, labor that had some type of obstruction, and consequences from unsafe abortions.

What are the most common pregnancy and labor complications?

• High blood pressure. High blood pressure occurs when the arteries that carry blood from the heart to the organs and the placenta are narrowed.
• Gestational diabetes.
• Preeclampsia.
• Preterm labor.
• Miscarriage.
• Anemia.
• Infections.
• Breech position.

When a baby is born headfirst, his head molds to the shape of the birth canal. That’s why many babies are born with slightly pointed heads. But when a baby is in breech position, his head doesn’t have a chance to slim down. If the head can’t be delivered quickly enough, the baby could suffocate.

Sometimes you can push the baby back in and perform a C-section. If not, you have to cut down through the uterus and the cervix–the passageway between the uterus and the birth canal. This procedure is far more complicated than a C-section. Only if you are lucky is the baby delivered alive.

In addition to pain, women made to resist the urge to push may experience other complications. Delayed pushing sometimes causes labor to last longer, puts women at higher risk of postpartum bleeding and infection, and puts babies at a higher risk of developing sepsis, according to a study released last year.

Mammals, including human beings, have the ability to give birth while completely unconscious – even during sleep. This is due to something called the fetal ejection reflex (FER). The FER occurs when a woman’s body spontaneously, and with no effort, pushes out a baby quickly and efficiently.

6 ways to make your labour and delivery easier (yes, it’s possible)

1. Find the right caregiver. If you’re not jiving with your doctor or midwife, now’s the time to find another healthcare provider, one you have a better rapport with.
2. Eat well.
3. Keep fit.
4. Consider a birth plan.
5. Take prenatal classes.
6. Stay mobile.

Here’s a list of some foods that are purported to get labor going:

1. Pineapple. There’s nothing quite as sweet as fresh pineapple.
2. Dates. The fruit of the date palm tree, dates are very nutritious.
3. Spicy food.
4. Prego pizza.
5. Maternity salad.
6. The “Inducer” pizza.
7. Eggplant.
8. Cupcakes.

“It’s important that your cervix dilates, but equally important that the baby’s head moves into the pelvis.” Walking can be very helpful. As contractions get closer together and you have less time to walk around, you might find it easier to stay in one place and rock your hips, or sway from side to side.

10 Ways to Make Labor Less Painful

1. Cardio Exercise. Exercise doesn’t have to — and shouldn’t — stop when you become pregnant.
2. Kegels. Kegels are a small exercise with big impact.
3. Lengthening Exercises.
4. Aromatherapy.
5. Homeopathy.
6. Acupuncture.
7. Sex.
8. Hypnotherapy.