Birth Injuries: The Hidden Epidemic

For Birth Trauma Awareness Week 2022, the theme this year was Physical Birth Injuries: Diagnosis and Treatment.

Make Birth Better, together with Birth Trauma Association UK and Australasian Birth Trauma Association conducted a survey which focuses on diagnosis, treatment and impact of physical birth injuries. The findings illustrate the major impact birth injuries can have on daily life, mental and physical well-being, relationships and intimacy.

The stories that were shared speak louder than statistics. They show the often hidden and multi-layered pain that comes from birth injuries.

“I feel like a shell of my former self. I have lost my hope, my self-esteem is so low now.”

“None of them listened to me. They said ‘that’s normal’ and ‘it’ll pass with time, all women hurt after birth’.”

“It’s affected my relationship of 7 years. Not only can we NOT be intimate, I won’t even let him look at it. I’m so ashamed of how I’ve been left to feel and look.”

There is still a lot of stigma around physical birth injuries, with people who have a birth-related injury often feeling a lot of shame in talking about it. The study clearly shows the incredible impact these injuries have on people’s daily life, which is undoubtedly something that needs more awareness.

But what’s more perhaps, is that the results show a huge issue around delayed diagnosis and inadequate treatment. This illustrates just how much women’s health problems around birth are neglected, and with the imminent launch of the Women’s Health Strategy – which specifically addresses stigmas and poor diagnosis around women’s health, these are key findings that cannot be overlooked.

Nearly 1 in 5 women (17%)* said they had to wait at least 6 months to a year to receive diagnosis

Nearly 1 in 4 women (23%) mentioned their injury was diagnosed at different times, indicating possible misdiagnosis, or possibly symptoms being dismissed or not taken seriously

3 in 4 women (73%) said they received treatment for their condition, yet 6 out of 10 women (60%) mentioned treatment has only partially been effective; and 1 in 4 (24%) said they still have a problem

Only 16% said treatment had been completely effective so 84% are living with the problem without a solution

When you consider the substantial impact birth-related injuries have on people’s daily lives, their mental and physical well-being, relationships and intimacy, it’s a disgrace that they receive so little attention.

Read the full report here: Birth Injuries: The Hidden Epidemic