A Wollongong birth advocacy group is pushing for more people to come forward with their experiences of birth trauma, as the closing date for submissions for a NSW Parliamentary inquiry on the widespread issue nears.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Led by Animal Justice League upper house MP Emma Hurst, the inquiry will focus on investigating and preventing cases where maternity care providers had compounded or contributed to trauma.
Better Births Illawarra, which hosted an even in July for people to learn more about the issue, says submission numbers are "too low for the parliament to take birth trauma as a serious issue", and has composed a list of questions for those who have given birth to consider.
Read our stories on the issue
- The horror birth that left a Calderwood mum unable to bond with her child
- 'I gave birth to my daughter twice': traumatised Illawarra mothers speak up
- Lis will never get over the trauma of her first birth in Wollongong Hospital
- Increase in medical interventions linked to birth trauma, Wollongong midwife says
"We hope the inquiry [is] flooded with stories so we can create change, so please, if you do one thing today, share with friends, family members, your mothers group, parent group and colleagues," the advocacy group wrote on social media.
With the issue of birth trauma in the spotlight, Better Births is calling for an expansion of Wollongong Hopsital's Midwifery Group Practice program, where women see the same midwives throughout their pregnancy and birth.
The program is recognised as best practice for preventing birth trauma, but only has a limited numbers of places which means many women who want to take part in it miss out.
Submissions are due by August 11, and can be made confidentially if needed.
Kate McIlwain
For more than a decade, I've helped the Illawarra Mercury set the news agenda across the region. Currently I'm the paper's health reporter - covering the stories of Illawarra workers and residents in the wake of a global pandemic and at a time where our health systems are stretched to the limit.
For more than a decade, I've helped the Illawarra Mercury set the news agenda across the region. Currently I'm the paper's health reporter - covering the stories of Illawarra workers and residents in the wake of a global pandemic and at a time where our health systems are stretched to the limit.
