Episode 9: Pregnancy after Birth Trauma with Rhiannah Pohlman
- 11 minutes ago
- 3 min read
Rhiannah Pohlman | Flourish | Naturopath, Counsellor and Birth Cartographer
Rhiannah Pohlman (rhiannahrose.com.au) is a naturopath and counsellor supporting women navigating pregnancy and birth after a traumatic experience. Trained by Dr Catherine Bell, she is a birth cartographer, helping women map their births, advocate for their choices and build contingency plans, alongside nervous system regulation and birth story integration. She brings all of this together through Flourish, her pregnancy support program.
Rhiannah was called to this work after two traumatic births of her own, each one teaching her something different about what she needed to feel safe. She has taken those lived experiences and built a program to support other women planning for birth after trauma.
Rhiannah's first birth was a rural hospital induction that stretched over three days, ending in forceps, a vacuum delivery and a fourth-degree tear, with little support or referral afterwards. The second, years later, began as a healing natural labour just days before a scheduled caesarean, before turning into an emergency when her son's heart rate dropped. Two very different experiences. Both, she says, shaped everything she now does with women.
In this conversation Rhiannah shares her birth stories, what she learnt and what changed in her as a result. The beauty in it all is that she still believes in birth and its power for transformation. We talk about what birth trauma actually is, how it can show up in your system, the importance of care providers using trauma-informed language, and what it takes to rebuild self-trust before trying again.
SHOW NOTES
What drew Rhiannah to this work, and her first birth: three days of induction, forceps, a vacuum delivery and a fourth-degree tear [00:23]
The years after: no referral, no follow-up, and incontinence normalised as her “new normal” [04:12]
Finally getting help: a psychologist, a physio, and a colorectal surgeon [04:42]
Choosing a second pregnancy, grief, and planning a scheduled caesarean [05:11]
Labour finds her anyway: a healing start that became an emergency caesarean [05:39]
Becoming a naturopath and training in counselling to specialise in birth trauma recovery [07:04]
Why she still believes in birth [08:03]
What birth trauma actually is: it's not about what happened, it's about how it felt [09:18]
How birth trauma shows up: fear, late-night googling, flashbacks [10:43]
Why she works at the nervous system level first, not just talk therapy [12:13]
Daily rituals, and birth mapping as the missing piece from her own first pregnancy [13:19]
The societal conditioning that stops women exploring their options the first time around [15:07]
Telling your story without scaring other women [17:17]
Rebuilding self-trust: the micro-commitments that repair how you listen to yourself [19:39]
What Rhiannah wants for every woman she works with: informed, empowered and supported [32:57]
CONNECT WITH RHIANNAH
Instagram: @rhiannah_rose
Flourish is Rhiannah's full pregnancy support offering, blending naturopathy, nervous system work, counselling and birth mapping for women preparing for birth after a traumatic experience.
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE
The Birth Map: a structured decision-making and communication tool created by Dr Catherine Bell, birthmap.life
Birth cartography: mapping the different pathways a birth can take, so decisions can be made from an informed, rather than reactive, place
Nervous system regulation: working with the body's threat response, not just talking through what happened
Trauma-informed language: the words and framing used by care providers that can either support or retraumatise a woman
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