- Goldie Hawn shared that she had trauma from the delivery of her son Oliver Hudson, who is 45.
- Hudson shared that he believed that the birth had impacted him subconsciously.
- A doctor stated that birth trauma is common and should be addressed by anyone suffering.
Goldie Hawn might not be a 40-year-old mother, but Hawn recently spoke out about his traumatic birth and the emotional rollercoaster ride that followed. “It was terrible,” She spoke out. “I have cried so many times, even in recent times.”
Hawn spoke about her trauma on the podcast “Sibling Revelry,” which is hosted by two of her children, Kate Hudson, 42, and Oliver Hudson, 45. In this particular episode, Hawn was filling in for Kate, and the conversation with Hudson turned to mental health.
Hawn discussed how Hudson required lifesaving treatment after his emergency cesarean delivery. The baby had aspirated meconium, the first bowel movement, and was in distress. “I learned that my baby might die,” Hawn told Hudson. “You had a 40% chance of living.”
Hawn initially was afraid to go see Hudson who was in the neonatal intensive hospital unit.
“The doctors said, and the nurses said, you must go up and see him. I was so afraid of what would happen if I saw you again. I would fall in love with you, and you would die,” On the podcast, she shared this with her son. “And that would scar me forever if I lost you.”
Hawn ended up visiting her son three more times a day.
Hawn’s family members had trauma, too
Hawn and Hudson talked about the way that trauma had affected their family. Hudson can’t even remember his birth date, but he felt it affected him subconsciously.
“I was whisked away from you — didn’t have a mother’s love — and was put on a metal slab. Even though that was unconscious, how could that not have impacted me in some way?” He agreed.
Hawn claimed that the experience triggered her mother.
“My mom went to bed, and she didn’t come out of her room for several days because her first baby had a SIDS death,” Hawn said. “My mother, on top of everything, was having this PTSD, horrible moment.”
Hawn realized how traumatized she was until years later when she began having panic attacks while visiting sick children at a NICU in Buffalo.
Birth trauma comes in all forms
Birth trauma can stem from an array of experiences, G. Thomas Ruiz, the OB-GYN lead at MemorialCare Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, California, told Insider.
“You could define a traumatic birth as anything that may cause psychological stress to the mother or the father,” He said.
Unplanned cesareans can be traumatizing for some. Other people may experience more severe trauma. Hawn lost her infant son to sudden infant mortality syndrome.
“What’s trauma for one person is not trauma for another,” Ruiz said.
Today, providers are more conscious of the trauma that birth can cause. Ruiz helps parents connect with social workers if they have to give birth in a difficult way. They can provide support and resources as well as evaluate their needs. Ruiz also visits the parents about one week after the birth to assess their psychological and physical health.
The likelihood of someone developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from the birth can be reduced by processing the event as soon as possible. Ruiz explained that post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is more common in birth than most people realize.
Ruiz said that you should seek counseling or mental-health treatment if you are having trouble with your childhood memories.
“Any time along the process, if you sense you’re having difficulty, get help,” Ruiz said.