Whilst having a baby is an exciting time for many families, giving birth is often a daunting and fearful thought, even for those parents that might have had previous experience in birth.

Unfortunately, for some giving birth is not straight forward. Some births are complicated, some are traumatic, some can be a combination of both. Some births, despite being traumatic, result in a good outcome and some result in injury to the birthing person or baby. In the absolute worst case, some result in loss. There are some circumstances where birth trauma could have been avoided and in others, sadly not. All of these scenarios can have a devastating impact on an individual, both parents and the family resulting in birth trauma. 

The Birth Trauma All Parliamentary Party Group (APPG) led by MP’s Theo Clarke and Rosie Duffield  launched a Public Inquiry in to birth trauma.  This follows reports of high numbers of cases involving birth trauma alongside  heavy criticism of many maternity units across the UK, some of whom are being investigated and potentially face sanctions for inadequate services. 

The APPG aims to review the reasons for the prevalence of birth trauma in the UK. The Inquiry objectives include identifying common features in maternity care, the impact of birth trauma and investigating whether current post-natal services to treat women’s physical and mental health problems are up to standard. This inquiry doesn’t just focus solely on parents affected by birth trauma. A call has also been made to maternity professionals who have been affected by birth trauma to come forward and share their stories. 

A report will be produced and shared upon conclusion of the Inquiry, making recommendations to parliament on how to reduce the rate of birth trauma. 

The Inquiry is calling for anyone who may have been affected by birth trauma to share their story. The deadline for submission is 6 Feb.  Find out more here .

There will be a series of witness panel sessions held in Parliament from 5 Feb to 18 March - which is open to the public to attend and hear professionals and individuals talk of their experience. 

 At Switalskis we represent a large number of families who have suffered traumatic births. We support the Inquiry, which we hope will identify much needed change in the future of maternity care and result in less birth trauma overall. 

For anyone who has been affected by a traumatic birth and wishes to share their story, please click on the link below for more information.

If you or anyone you know has been affected by a traumatic birth and you require legal advice on a possible claim, please get in touch so that we can begin to help you. 

Contact our specialist medical negligence lawyers on 0800 138 0458 or email: help@switalskis.com