Hidden Trauma, Dissociation and Prenatal Assessment within the Calming Womb Model

Hidden, unresolved traumatic stress caused by childhood adverse
experiences often impacts women before their childrearing years with implications
for their prenatal bonding, obstetric experience, and their ability to parent
children. The purpose of this article is to inform about trauma conditions and
dissociative processes that are often present, yet buried in pregnant women’s
consciousness due to defensive adaptation, and to provide information about the
different types of screening tools designed to identify unsettled trauma in the
mother. The Calming Womb Family Therapy Model (CWFTM) integrates
questionnaire findings, trauma-informed interventions, and collaborative care to
treat and prevent intergenerational trauma, and nurture relational attunement
with parents and babies from conception through the first year after birthing.