6-12 September is Birth Trauma Awareness Week where we recognise the stories of people who have experienced trauma as a result of child birth. The Week is also a time to raise awareness of the risks of trauma during child birth.
More common than you think but not discussed enough
Birth trauma is a very real issue, but one not often discussed, even among women. The impact of birth trauma is both physical and psychological. It is also wide reaching and often lifelong.
A recent article by Professor Mike O’Connor, Head of Discipline of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, titled ‘Eve’s curse’, discusses pain and pain management in labour-essentially concluding that pain relief is a fundamental human right.
We have handled numbers of claims for women who have experienced significant and avoidable injury during the birth process. In most of these cases, it has become clear that little or no information is generally made available to women about maternal birth trauma.
It is also important to recognise that the impacts of birth trauma including pain relief during labour extend beyond the mother. We have handled a number of cases where children have been left with a disability as a result of birth trauma. There are impacts on the father of the child too and other people in a relationship with the mother or her child.
What needs to be done?
Some argue that medical paternalism is preventing women and their partners from fully understanding all of the risks associated with all forms of childbirth. Healthcare professionals have a duty to fully inform about risks and benefits before childbirth and prospective parents need to feel empowered to ask for that information and to challenge the decisions of their healthcare providers.
A healthy debate about childbirth and its risks needs to occur. There seems to be a push towards ‘natural birth’ by health departments and many healthcare providers, often perpetuated by the media. Scaremongering about caesarean section is counterproductive and leads many women down the path of vaginal delivery when it may not be the right option for them. The UK is way ahead of Australia with the NICE clinical guidelines which allow women to make the choice for a caesarean section.
More information and help
If you have experienced what you think might be “birth trauma”, contact us to discuss how we can help you.
For a definition of birth trauma and information about the legal options available click here.
Resources and support are also available from the Australian Birth Trauma Association or the Centre for Perinatal Psychology.
Read more:
Injuries from Vaginal Birth | Our Client’s Story
Failure to Perform Emergency C-section | Our Client’s Story
Injury from Instrumental Birth (forceps) | Our Client’s Story
