Creating a Trauma-Informed Multidisciplinary Clinic

Pregnancy can be a difficult time for people who have experienced trauma. Trauma-informed care can address the needs of people who have experienced trauma. In the present study, we describe the creation of a trauma-informed multidisciplinary clinic for pregnant people with a history of trauma or birth trauma.

We considered the best practices for identifying and training key personnel, developing and implementing trauma-informed interventions, including the development of a trauma-informed birth plan, and designing procedures for patient identification and referral to the clinic.

The implementation of trauma-informed procedures in the clinic and labor and delivery unit is described. All patients agreed to have the trauma-informed birth plan documented in the medical record. Trauma-informed birth plans were well received by staff who reported it was easy to find and clearly documented. Patients reported many of their goals were achieved and that care teams utilized the birth plan. Importantly, the patient experience in the multidisciplinary clinic was positive even if the birth experience and delivery were medically complicated.

The present work demonstrates that a trauma-informed multidisciplinary clinic can address the specific needs of people who have experienced trauma or a traumatic birth. It further demonstrates that trauma-informed interventions can be delivered by a multidisciplinary team across outpatient and inpatient settings and successfully communicated to staff not directly involved in the clinic, but involved in patient care. Hospitals providing care to pregnant people should consider creating a trauma-informed multidisciplinary clinic to support patients with traumatic experiences.