Psychiatric injury after traumatic birth

By Hannah Nagle, Sadie Simpson

Published May 09, 2025In: Clinical Negligence

Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week is a time to reflect on the emotional toll that childbirth can have and to acknowledge the real, lasting impact that trauma can cause. At Switalskis, many of the mothers we support have experienced traumatic births and are now living with psychiatric injuries as a direct result of negligent care during the antenatal period, labour and delivery.

Birth trauma and clinical negligence

Birth trauma maybe the result of substandard care. Some common examples of negligent care during childbirth include:

Missed signs of foetal distress
Delayed decisions regarding C-sections
Inadequate responses to complications like placental abruption, haemorrhage or shoulder dystocia

When this happens, mothers can suffer not only physical consequences, but also significant emotional and harm.

Understanding psychiatric injury after birth

Psychiatric injuries following a traumatic birth are more common than many people realise. These can include:

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Postnatal depression
Anxiety
Complicated grief

They can affect every aspect of a mother’s life, from her relationships to her ability to care for her child.

When can psychiatric injuries be part of a birth injury claim?

For a psychiatric injury claim to succeed, it must be proven that the psychiatric injury directly resulted from the negligent care to the mother during the antenatal period, and/or labour and delivery. Expert psychiatric evidence is often needed to support the claim.

Sadie Simpson, Associate Solicitor at Switalskis, recently spoke at our Brain Injury at Birth Conference, highlighting how important it is to understand when and how these types of claims can be pursued.

Primary -vs- secondary victims in psychiatric injury claims

A key part of any psychiatric injury claim is understanding whether the claimant is considered a primary or secondary victim. This distinction has a major impact on the legal tests that apply.

The landmark case of Alcock v Chief Constable of South Yorkshire Police determined the legal principle to distinguish claimants suffering from psychiatric injury into either primary or secondary victims. There are different legal tests to be satisfied for primary and secondary victims in psychiatric injury claims.

Primary victims are those who are considered participants and are directly involved in the traumatic event.
Secondary victims are typically considered as bystanders who are witnesses to the negligence and not directly physically endangered themselves.

Recent developments: Paul v Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust

The recent case of Paul v Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust has clarified and, unfortunately majorly restricted the circumstances under which secondary victims can bring a claim as a result of medical negligence. Therefore, determining whether a mother is a primary or secondary victim is now a critical step in any psychiatric injury claim.

Why mothers are treated as primary victims

In birth injury cases, mothers are usually classified as primary victims. This is because, during pregnancy, the mother and foetus are considered a single legal entity. If negligent care causes harm while the baby is still in utero, the mother is legally recognised as being a primary victim to recover damages for any psychiatric injury that results.

Several legal cases reinforce this position:

Wild v Southend Hospital NHS Trust (2014): The mother was classified as a primary victim following negligent care which occurred whilst the baby was in utero.
RE (A Child) v Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust (2017): Confirmed the mother’s right to claim as a primary victim because the harm occurred before the baby was born.
YAH v Medway NHS Foundation Trust (2018): Affirmed that mothers may claim as primary victims when negligence that occurs before birth causes them personal injury including psychiatric harm. The mother does not cease to be a primary victim if the injury to the child continues after birth.
Zeromska-Smith v United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust (2019): upheld the decision in YAH that mothers are considered primary victims if the negligence occurs whilst the baby is still in utero.

Importantly, a mother’s psychiatric injury does not have to be a formally diagnosed disorder at the time of the incident. However, it must go beyond normal grief or bereavement to qualify for a claim.

Legal recognition is only part of the solution

While legal claims can offer financial support and recognition, recovery from birth trauma requires much more. Mothers need access to:

Timely perinatal mental health services
Trauma-informed psychological care
Support from groups like the Birth Trauma Association
Specialist legal advice that validates and supports their experience

At our conference, Dr Jan Smith stressed the importance of recognising and validating a mother’s emotional experience, as well as in cases where the baby survives and appears physically healthy. These experiences should never be dismissed or minimised.

Maternal Mental Health Awareness Week reminds us that birth trauma affects more than just the physical body. Psychiatric injuries caused by negligent care deserve to be recognised not just in law, but in how we support mothers every day.

At Switalskis, we’re committed to helping families recover after birth trauma. Whether through legal action or signposting to emotional and practical support, our clinical negligence team is here to help you take the next step.

We’re here to support you

If you or a loved one has been affected by a traumatic birth or birth injury, you don’t have to go through it alone. Our specialist medical negligence solicitors are here to listen, support, and advise you on your options.