Birth Reflection Service

Birth Reflections Service
Every birth is a unique experience, and very personal to each person. What feels normal to one
woman may not feel normal or indeed right to another. Talking things through after the birth may
help you to understand the events that took place during your care more clearly and provide you
with an opportunity to ask questions about your birth experience.
The Birth Reflections Service is a confidential Midwifery lead service, where the focus is on
listening to you, understanding what is important to you and what you would like more information
about.
Benefits:
We will invite you to discuss your labour and birth, to explore things that you felt were
empowering, but also to revisit aspects of your care that you felt were confusing or unexpected.
Things to consider:
We understand that talking about your birth experience can be emotionally challenging. The
midwives who run the clinic are not trained counsellors or therapists, but they will listen and
explain anything in your notes that you feel unsure about or don't understand. The midwife can
also direct you to mental health care providers, if further support is needed.
Alternatives:
Your community midwife can discuss your birth experience while under their care. However, if you
feel you would benefit from a more detailed discussion, a Birth Reflections appointment may be a
better option for you.
What happens next:
Your GP, midwife, or Health Visitor may offer to make a referral to this service on your
behalf. Alternatively, you can self-refer to our Birth Reflections service anytime up until 10 years
following the birth, by visiting Salisbury’s Maternity Website and searching for the Birth Reflections
page. However, if you have any additional questions about this service or indeed around making
the referral please send your enquiry, via email to sft.birthreflections@nhs.net.
The average waiting time for an appointment is between eight to ten weeks from receiving your
referral but this can be longer during busy periods. The earliest you will be offered an appointment
is six weeks after the birth of your baby/babies, allowing you time to physically recover from the
birth.
What will happen at my appointment:
At your Birth Reflections appointment, you will spend about an hour with an experienced midwife
going through your maternity notes and discussing your birthing experience as a timeline of
events. In doing so, this allows you to understand what happened and why. There will be time to
ask any questions and for you to offer any feedback you might have.
You are welcome to bring someone with you for support. This may be your partner, a family
member or a close friend. They do not need to have been your birth partner.
Non-mobile babies are welcome to attend with you, however we ask that older children and
siblings do not attend the appointment.
Please be aware that we can only accept the referral if you have birthed your baby at
Salisbury Foundation Trust. If you have had your baby elsewhere, we would recommend
contacting your own hospital’s Birth Reflection service.

For useful links or further information please visit:
Birth Trauma Association: The Birth Trauma Association
PANDAS: Home – PnD – Postnatal Depression Support – PANDAS Foundation UK
Mind: Home - Mind
Anxiety UK: National charity helping people with Anxiety - Anxiety UK
DadPad: Why DadPad | About DadPad | Support for new dads
Maternity and Neonatal Voices Partnerships (MNVP): For further information, or if you wish to provide
some feedback, please visit the Maternity Neonatal Voices Partnership (MNVP) website. The MNVP
listens to the experiences of women and families, and brings together service users, staff, and other
stakeholders to plan, review, and improve maternity and neonatal care.
Useful padlets:
https://padlet.com/BSWMVP/mentalhealth
https://padlet.com/BSWMVP/postnatal 
Note. This document uses the term women throughout, but this term should be taken to also include people who do not
identify as women but who are pregnant, in labour and in the postnatal period.