Traumatic births are preventing women from having more children
A Mumsnet poll found that more than half who had suffered birth trauma said their experience put them off having more babies.
Last updated 27th Nov 2023
More must be done to protect women from birth trauma, a Tory MP has said after a new poll revealed that traumatic births have prevented a significant proportion of women from having more children.
Theo Clarke said that it was "vitally important" that women receive the care and support they need after a traumatic birth.
It comes after a poll of members of the Mumsnet community found that more than half (53%) who had suffered birth trauma said their experience put them off having more babies.
She has since set up an All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Birth Trauma to try to highlight the plight of thousands of women who suffer similar situations each year.
We've been speaking to a representative from the Birth Trauma Association in the north west who say it's forcing expectant mums to make difficult decisions. Rachel McGrath is their north west rep and has had her own traumatic birth:
"It's absolutely heart breaking. We are getting enquiries on a regular basis from women who have endured a traumatic birth and they have found themselves pregnant again, and they are considering, giving real consideration to ending that pregnancy and having a termination because they do not feel able to go through a child birth experience again."
"We had a woman who was in advanced labour, a midwife turned to her because she was writhing in pain.. and the midwife turned to her husband and said 'is she always this much of a drama queen?', and that just simply isn't acceptable."
The survey also found that 72% of those who had experienced birth trauma said their issue had not been resolved a year after giving birth.
Among those who had experienced physical, emotional or psychological birth trauma, 44% said healthcare professionals used language which implied they were "a failure or to blame" for the experience.
Three quarters (76%) of all of those polled said they felt that health professionals had become "desensitised" to birth trauma.
Almost two thirds (63%) said they did not believe healthcare workers did everything they could to prevent birth trauma.
And 64% said they felt a "lack of compassion" from healthcare professionals during labour.
The Department of Health and Social Care has been approached for comment.