Birth Trauma Association describes 'lives ruined by the experience of birth'

In a damning indictment of the current state of the UK's maternity care, a report published by the Birth Trauma Association in May this year cites thousands of women as having intrusive procedures during childbirth without their consent.

The report, entitled Listen to Mums: Ending the Postcode Lottery on Perinatal Care, includes terrible examples of women who have been traumatised by their experience of giving birth, left with long-term physical and psychological injuries that impact their relationship with the baby and their whole family and sometimes prevented them from being able to return to work.

In a survey involving 1,584 women conducted by the Association, 42 per cent were found to have been subjected to surgical interventions such as incision without being asked for their consent, required by law. 

Half of the women questioned who underwent procedures including emergency caesareans said they did not have the capacity to provide consent because doctors and midwives left it too late to inform them of the risks.

The Association said a lack of basic respect left new mothers feeling 'dehumanised' during labour and subjected to a basic lack of dignity. One woman said that 10 staff members casually entered her labour suite, none of them even saying hello, which she described as 'extremely dehumanising'.

The most common procedure experienced by women was an episiotomy, an incision made during childbirth, with16 per cent of women reporting they had the procedure without being told. 

Twelve per cent had a cervical sweep to induce labour without providing consent and more than half of the women taking part in the survey who underwent procedures in theatre said were asked to sign their consent when they were too sick or exhausted to understand what was happening. 

Donna Ockenden, currently leading the official inquiries into catastrophic maternity failings at Shrewsbury and Nottingham hospital trusts, described the failure to inform women about procedures as 'unacceptable' and something that must change.

'Without open communication, women cannot make the right decisions for them, nor have full autonomy over their bodies', she said.

'Women and their families should be at the heart of everything we do, and not end their maternity journey feeling vulnerable, traumatised or distressed.'

Kim Thomas, chief executive of the Birth Trauma Association and author of the report, said: 'By law, health professionals are required to obtain informed consent before they carry out a procedure, and our survey shows that in many cases this simply isn't happening.'

'We need a culture change in maternity so that it is never considered acceptable to perform procedures without a woman's consent.'

The Brith Trauma Association, a charity founded and run by women who experienced birth trauma, aims to support women and families who have experienced traumatic birth. It was chosen as the lead organisation to advise on the 2024 parliamentary inquiry into birth trauma, initiated by Theo Clarke MP and Rosie Duffield MP. 

Unfortunately, the absence of informed consent is a common theme in many of the birth trauma clients that I represent. 

Often women are asked to sign consent forms when they are in the active stages of labour or when they are told that their or their child's life might be at risk. In these circumstances, they cannot be provided with the information necessary to provide their consent. 

There must be a balance between providing a pregnant woman with information and having discussions throughout a pregnancy rather than asking or expecting them to make life impacting decisions when in a high stress and often traumatic environment. 

Read more about our birth injuries to the mother claims and hear from clients.