Stop Suffering, Find Relief

~

Stop Suffering, Find Relief ~

Support for Birth Trauma

Therapy for mom’s who’ve experienced preeclampsia, an emergency c-section, a NICU stay, or felt dismissed and powerless in the hospital room.

Reston, VA

plus DC, Maryland, Indiana & Michigan

You and your baby are healthy, but a life or death moment continues to terrify you.

I’m Kate, and I help women whose lives have been upended by a traumatic birth experience. I guide them in quieting the relentless mental replay, easing guilt and self-blame, and gently moving toward peace—so they can be present with their baby and begin to feel safe in their own body again.

My clients are first time mothers, scared mothers, and grieving mothers.

They’re strong, high-functioning women who are used to managing stress, solving problems, and holding it all together. But since a scary delivery or hectic NICU stay, they’ve just been trying to find a steady sense of calm.

They had everything planned out for the birth experience they wanted and were told they could have. One moment, they were expecting a routine or joyful birth. The next, they were facing flashing monitors, rushed decisions, or medical emergencies. Sometimes they were ignored, silenced, or dismissed during the labor.

Some of these moms weren’t able to meet their baby until days later. Instead of remembering the moment they first got to hold their baby, they’re picturing the dark, cold operating room where they were separated from their little one.

Time may have passed, but the fear doesn’t let up. The long NICU stay felt just as isolating; watching parents take their newborn home week after week while you’re still there. The moms feel out of control and the dads feel helpless.

Sleep is disrupted. Trust in others—sometimes even in their own body—feels shattered. Certain dates, places, or even noises bring a wave of anxiety. And though they love their baby deeply, some feel detached, irritable, or numb.

When these women come to me, they’re navigating grief while trying to function—recovering from a traumatic pregnancy, battling flashbacks of a distressing birth while trying to bond with their baby, or coming home to an empty house while their newborn remains in the NICU.

They’re exhausted.

They’re overstimulated.

And often silently wondering:

Why can’t I stop thinking about it?

Why do I feel so broken even though we’re both alive?

Why does no one understand how hard this is?

This isn’t just postpartum stress—it’s birth trauma. And you’re not alone.

When my clients first come to see me, their fears and flashbacks from the traumatic labor are getting in the way of the life they want in so many ways. They aren’t the kind of mother they want to be.

They want to greet their baby every morning with joy and excitement, but instead they feel guilt and sadness that their little one’s birth story entails terror and near death moments.

They feel like they’re failing at raising a happy and content child after having to leave them in the hospital after they themselves were discharged. 

Before they came to see me, they feared this delivery experience would shake them from wanting another child like they had wanted before.

They worried that panic and fear would continue to get worse each time they had to go get a checkup for them and the baby at the doctor's office.

And they were pretty certain that whatever went wrong during labor was their fault. They would never let go of the guilt and that was exhausting.

Finding stability and peace is possible.

I’d be honored to walk alongside you as you navigate this path.

Schedule a consultation today.

Schedule a consultation

Kate Regnier, LCSW and EMDR Therapist, offers in person 90 minute intensive sessions in her Reston office on Tuesday’s, and conducts all other sessions virtually via a secure video platform for Virginia residents. Kate also see’s clients virtually in the following states: MI, IN, DC, and MD.