Birth Trauma Inquiry
An Invisible Epidemic
But when she tried to raise her concerns with medical staff at her local hospital, she was dismissed and sent home.
“I knew something was wrong,” Hall said. “I was made to feel like a nuisance. They put a lot of it down to me being a ‘paranoid mother’ so I was never taken seriously.”
“All she told me was to take some Panadol, have a shower and go back to bed,” Hall said. “[In the morning] she said to me: ‘I wish you just held out’ [to the preplanned induction time].”
A Call for Reform
A world-first parliamentary inquiry in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) has called for sweeping reforms to better protect women giving birth. But as the state government prepares to respond this week to its recommendations, mothers and advocates argue the inquiry did not go far enough.
‘Trauma for Generations’
Amy Dawes suffered life-altering injuries after giving birth to her daughter in 2013, but it took 16 months for her to be diagnosed with pelvic floor muscle damage.
“That changed the trajectory of my life,” she said. “I was told I shouldn’t do any physical activity or pick up my daughter. I fell to pieces, to the point where I began thinking my daughter would be better off without me.”
A Culture of Dismissal
“As a GP who used to provide antenatal care, I’d heard these stories before I entered parliament, but the sheer number of people who engaged with this inquiry is unprecedented,” said Dr Amanda Cohn, a Greens party politician in NSW and member of the parliamentary committee that conducted the Australian inquiry.
A similar inquiry in the United Kingdom, spurred by the NSW precedent, found “a maternity system where poor care is all-too-frequently tolerated as normal, and women are treated as an inconvenience”.
The Road to Reform
While Australian parliamentary inquiries are generally open to the public, they rarely prompt widespread public engagement. The birth trauma inquiry was different. It received more than 4,000 submissions, overwhelmingly anonymous, from members of the public disclosing the pain, trauma and humiliation they had suffered throughout pregnancy and birth.
Obstetric Violence
But even as the state government weighs its response, many of the mothers who told the inquiry their stories are furious that the report failed to acknowledge obstetric violence as a form of gender-based violence. In a dissenting statement, the inquiry’s own chair, Animal Justice Party politician Emma Hurst, said the final report “fails to recognise the very clear evidence that this is a gendered issue”.
A Call to Action
“I think we need to call things what they are and we need to be quite fierce about the words and the language that we’re using around this,” said Rebecca Collier, one of the mothers who gave evidence.
Conclusion
The birth trauma inquiry has sparked a much-needed conversation about the treatment of women during pregnancy and childbirth. While the report’s recommendations are a step in the right direction, more needs to be done to address the culture of dismissal and normalisation of women’s pain and suffering.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is obstetric violence?
A: Obstetric violence refers to the physical, emotional, and psychological abuse of women during pregnancy and childbirth.
Q: What are the consequences of obstetric violence?
A: The consequences of obstetric violence can be severe, including physical harm, emotional trauma, and long-term mental health problems.
Q: What can be done to prevent obstetric violence?
A: To prevent obstetric violence, healthcare providers must prioritize respectful and compassionate care, and women must be empowered to speak out about their experiences and advocate for themselves.
