MASIC attends APPG on Birth Trauma
On Monday 11th September 2023 MASIC were privileged to attend the launch of MP Theo Clarke’s All Party Parliamentary Group on Birth Trauma.
The event saw the launch of the results of a specially commissioned survey with Mumsnet. More than a thousand women from across the UK contributed to the results. The survey found that 79% of women have experienced birth trauma, with 53% experiencing physical trauma and 71% experiencing psychological or emotional trauma.
At the event, Ms Clarke welcomed Dr Ranee Thakar, President of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, who shared her expertise on the subject and welcomed Ms Clarke’s campaign. The Stafford MP also welcomed Justine Roberts, the founder of Mumsnet:
“We hear daily on Mumsnet from women who have had deeply upsetting experiences of maternity care, and this latest research underlines that the majority of mothers experience birth trauma – whether physical or psychological. This trauma has long lasting effects and it’s clear that women are being failed at every stage of the maternity care process – with too little information provided beforehand, a lack of compassion from staff during birth, and substandard postnatal care for mothers’ physical and mental health. This is not solely an issue of staffing or funding. It is a cultural problem which sees women belittled and undermined, with their choices and experiences ignored. These failures of care would not be tolerated in any other part of the health service, and it is no coincidence that they repeatedly occur in a section of the NHS which exclusively treats women and their babies.”
When asked about the survey, Ms Clarke stated:
“These survey results are deeply upsetting. They speak to my own experience and quite clearly to many, many other women’s horrendous experiences too. That more than half of women say they are less likely to want another child because of their birth experiences and they were made to feel they were to blame is simply terrible. The survey is clear that more compassion, education and follow up care for mothers who suffer birth trauma are desperately needed if we are to see an improvement in mums’ physical and mental wellbeing. It is not right that nearly half of women felt unsafe during their post-natal care and 43% felt unsafe during labour. Another finding is just how little support and information there is for partners when new mothers suffer a traumatic birth. The APPG is now up and running and will continue to listen to mothers and experts to drive fundamental change in how we treat mums. The ambition is for birth trauma to be an integral part of the government’s upcoming women’s health strategy.”
The full survey results can be found here: Birth Trauma Survey Results
