Acknowledgement Of Country

We respect First Nations peoples and their enduring connection to country – to the land, air, waterways, oceans, animals and plants – and recognise the wisdom and culture that has seen them thrive for thousands of years. We recognise that sovereignty was never ceded, and, with humility and courage, wholeheartedly commit heads, hearts and hands to a path of healing, restitution and justice, embracing the wisdom of those who can guide us. We will fulfil our responsibility with honesty and integrity, we will challenge injustice, and - in all of this - we will hold ourselves accountable.

Birth trauma Peer2Peer program

Childbirth is a positive experience for many, but it can also be deeply challenging. We acknowledge the impact of birth trauma and are here to support healing.

Register your interest

What is birth trauma?

What is birth trauma?

Birth trauma is a birthing person’s experience of childbirth-related events and/or interactions that cause overwhelming distressing emotions and reactions. It leads to short and/or long-term negative impacts on a woman’s health and wellbeing. (Leinweber, et al., 2022)

Birth trauma can be physical or psychological, or a combination of both. It impacts mothers, birthing parents, fathers and non-birthing parents.

Support is available:
the Peer2Peer program

The Peer2Peer birth trauma support program is a peer-led initiative providing free support to those who have experienced birth trauma. The sessions are delivered by trained Peer Support Facilitators with extensive experience in perinatal care, social work and trauma informed practice. 

The child and baby friendly sessions run for two hours per week for six weeks.

The program was developed by Birth Trauma Australia and is being delivered by Women’s Health and Wellbeing Barwon South West.

The group work does not replace individualised care but can occur alongside any care you are personally receiving on your journey.

What can I expect from a
Peer2Peer support group?

Peer2Peer support group sessions are a safe space to share your birthing experience, free from judgement.

The first session is a chance for you to talk about your birth experience if you wish. This is the first step in helping you process your experience and will help us guide you to the support you need.

The Peer2Peer support groups will run with no more than 10 participants at a time and will explore the below topics.

Week 1 – Laying the Foundations

Week 2 – The Birth Trauma Rollercoaster

Week 3 – Exploring a Birth Debrief

Week 4 – Creating Your Collaborative Care Team

Week 5 – Friends, Family & Trauma

Week 6 – Where to from here? A Celebration!

Our facilitators provide a listening ear and supportive shoulder to help you navigate life after birth trauma and they can recommend services and resources that others have found useful. They are experienced in maternity care, social work and trauma informed practice but, as they are not trained psychologists, do not provide specific advice on diagnosis or treatment. 

Before participating in the program please read our privacy statement.

Participation and Support Details

Who is eligible?

You are eligible to participate in the Peer2Peer support program if you meet all of the following criteria

  • You are the birthing parent and are 3-24 months post-partum
  • Consent to a follow up phone call with our trained facilitators to confirm eligibility and suitability
  • Can attend weekly, two-hour, in person sessions over a 6 week period in Warrnambool or Geelong
  • Experienced any of the following
    • birth or pregnancy complications
    • physical injury from birth
    • unexpected emergency intervention in your labour or delivery
    • fear for your or your baby’s life
    • significant emotional distress or loss of trust because of your experience
    • retriggering of past trauma
    • a freeze or dissociation reaction
    • distress, insomnia, ruminating, avoidance or flashbacks since the birthing experience
    • unexpected mood changes (low mood, anger, irritability, checking behaviours, excessive worry) because of the birth

You can access the six-week program through self-referral or referral from your healthcare provider. Our facilitators will follow up with a phone call and further questions to ensure your suitability.

Who is ineligible?

Unfortunately, we are unable to accommodate the following participants at this stage

  • birthing partners
  • bereaved parents where a baby or pregnancy loss has occurred
  • people who are experiencing significant mental health crisis

Further support is available:

Warrnambool

Dates: Wednesday 13th August – Wednesday 17th September
Time: 9:30-11:30

Location: Archie Graham Centre, Warrnambool

The Archie Graham Centre is pram accessible, and the group sessions are child and toddler friendly. Change facilities are available onsite.

Geelong

Dates: Tuesday 12th August-Tuesday 16th September

Time: 12:30-2:30pm

Location: Berth Geelong

Women’s Health & Wellbeing Barwon South West (WHWBSW) is committed to respecting the privacy of all in accordance with the Australian Privacy Principles and the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth).

Personal information collected while completing Peer2Peer support program will only be used for the purposes stated at the time of collection. Your personal information will not be added to a mailing list or used for any other purpose without your consent.

The types of information that will be collected in the survey are;

  • Personal information: information or an opinion about any individual whose identity is apparent, or can reasonably be ascertained, from the information. Examples of personal information include an email address or name.
  • Health information: information or an opinion about an individual’s physical health, mental or psychological health, their disability, or any health services provided to them or to be provided.
  • Sensitive information: information or an opinion about an individual’s racial or ethnic origin; sexual orientation or practices; physical, mental and psychological health.

WHWBSW will destroy or delete health information in accordance with the provisions of the Health Records Act 2001 (Victoria).

WHWBSW will not collect, use or disclose any unique identifier assigned to an individual by another organisation (such as email address) unless required by law to do so, and the individual’s consent has been obtained.

This site does not provide facilities to guarantee the secure transmission of information across the internet. While reasonable efforts are used to provide security, users should be aware that there are inherent risks in the transmission of information across the internet

If you need urgent medical help, please call 000

For perinatal anxiety and depression support: The PANDA National Helpline: Mon-Fri 9am-7:30pm 1300 726 306

For 24-hour crisis support: Lifeline 13 11 14

For anyone experiencing or at risk of family and domestic violence: 1800 Respect (1800 737 732)

If you’d prefer one-on-one peer support: https://birthtrauma.org.au/peer2peer-support-program/

Support for fathers and partners: https://birthtrauma.org.au/fathers-and-partners/

Support for pregnancy or infant loss: https://rednosegriefandloss.org.au/contact-us

Support for pregnancy and parenting related mental health – PANDA: 1300 726 306 https://www.panda.org.au/ 

Tell Us About Your Experience

Register your interest in the
Peer2Peer Program

At any point, you can save your progress using the ‘Save and Continue’ button
at the bottom of this form, and return to this form at a later date.