Natalya
Healing hasn't been linear, and it hasn't been quick, but it has been transformative.
My second pregnancy came with some complications. At 38 weeks, after 10 hours of labour, my daughter was delivered needing resuscitation. What I didn't know was that I was haemorrhaging. I suffered a complete uterine rupture, lost 4.5 litres of blood and was placed in a medically induced coma and put on life support.
As I was taken to theatre, I kept repeating to myself "don't fall asleep" — convinced that if I did, I wouldn't wake up. I had survived. But mentally, I was unravelling.
I had never struggled with mental health before. But once home, I couldn't sleep, I had flashbacks, I was snapping at the people I loved most and I was consumed by anxiety. My body had survived something traumatic, but my nervous system didn't know it was over.
Through the support I received at Gidget Foundation Australia, I slowly began to untangle the trauma. I learned that my reactions weren't weaknesses, they were my brain trying to protect me. I learned that anxiety can be oud without being truthful.
My birth trauma had quietly rewritten a story in my mind – if something felt joyful, I braced myself for disaster. But healing changed that.
Two years on, my physical recovery still reminds me of what happened. But mentally, I am stronger. I understand my triggers. I recognise when anxiety is speaking instead of reality. Healing hasn’t been linear, and it hasn’t been quick, but it has been transformative.