Latest news with #traumaticbirth
ABC News
14-07-2025
- Health
- ABC News
Delays in childbirth injury diagnosis are impacting women's mental health, survey finds
Warning: This story contains discussion of suicide. A long bike ride to the park is Kristy Keefe's idea of a perfect day with her sons. She relishes every precious moment, having missed out on too many years ago when a traumatic birth led to a mental health collapse. "I have pictures and I am like I don't remember that," she says. "Because I was there, but I wasn't there." Kristy says she has blocked out some memories after hitting "rock bottom" when her second child was unexpectedly born in the hallway of her home six years ago. The trauma of her son Riley's birth, coupled with a fourth-degree vaginal tear, triggered feelings of dread and isolation. "I was really anxious. I really didn't want to be in the house because that's where it happened," she says. "I didn't want to be left alone with my baby by myself," Kristy remembers, saying she was having intrusive thoughts about something awful happening to her child. "I just felt really vulnerable and unsafe. It went to rock bottom." For women's health leaders like obstetrician Nisha Khot, Kristy's story cuts deep. "It's just a sign that we have failed women," Dr Khot says. Perinatal Anxiety and Depression Australia says one in three women experience a traumatic birth, with injuries including pelvic floor damage, perineal tears, episiotomy, incontinence, pelvic organ prolapse, as well as psychological distress. Understanding the impact of those birth injuries was the focus of a new survey from advocacy group Birth Trauma Australia (BTA). Nearly 400 women from around the country were asked questions about their birth experience, injuries sustained, diagnosis of the injuries, pain issues, incontinence and mental health. BTA chief executive Amy Dawes says the longer birth injuries take to diagnose, the more catastrophic the consequences. "We found that women that had struggled to get a diagnosis, they were 2.4 times more likely to experience suicidal thoughts," Ms Dawes says. "It's a taboo within a taboo. I have … heard firsthand accounts of women sharing their experiences of being in a really dark place following their birth trauma and struggling to get care, being dismissed." The new research also found almost all (98 per cent) of those who experienced birth-related trauma reported ongoing physical injury or pain that was not managed. It found that distressing or emergency procedures (69.6 per cent) and poor management of pain or physical injuries (53.8 per cent) are the most significant contributors to birth trauma and can lead to significant mental health impacts. Improving the mental wellbeing of women after a traumatic birth is a top priority for Dr Khot, president-elect of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RANZCOG). "If you have physical trauma and you're struggling with your body functions, then that is going to affect you psychologically as well, so it's not as if they're two separate entities," she says. Dr Khot says, while shocking, the survey results do not surprise her. "You just had your first baby and suddenly you find that you are incontinent," she says. "That has such huge implications for you to be able to just lead a normal life … go out with family, look after your baby, hold your baby, just lift your baby. "You can't do any of these things because of your incontinence. That is bound to have a huge impact on your mental wellbeing. How could it not?" It has been more than a year since a landmark inquiry in New South Wales heard traumatic birth experiences can have tragic consequences, including suicide and suicidal ideation. The inquiry found a number of women suffered preventable birth trauma in NSW and urgent efforts must be made to address it. BTA says there is now more investment and education of healthcare workers in the space, but more is needed. Misdiagnosis and delays in diagnosing birth-related injuries were also examined during the inquiry. BTA survey participant and mother-of-two Kristy says she struggled to get professional support in the public system for her incontinence, which compounded her psychological distress. She says it was disappointing to be out of pocket, but feels the private gynaecology, psychology and physiotherapy expertise she received was crucial to her mental and physical recovery. "I feel that if I didn't go and get that help and paid all that money … that maybe I wouldn't be here today." Ms Dawes says Kristy's experience is common. "Everyday women and birthing people across Australia are falling through the gaps in care," she says "They're sustaining severe, sometimes preventable, injuries and they fall through the gaps in a fragmented healthcare system." RANZCOG, BTA and the Australian College of Midwives are developing a federal government-funded birth trauma education pilot project, which will guide clinicians in prevention and rehabilitation of birth-related trauma. BTA is also advocating for mandatory postnatal screening and more funding for psychological support and physiotherapy. In its most recent budget, the New South Wales government allocated an extra $83 million for maternity care, family care centres and maternal vaccination. Victoria is spending an extra $21 million on its perinatal mental healthcare program. The Queensland government launched an $11 million women's wellbeing line this year and is also funding 30 new mother and baby beds for in-patient treatment of severe perinatal mental health disorders. In Western Australia, the NSW inquiry has prompted the development of a birth trauma policy for its public hospitals. Incoming RANZCOG president Nisha Khot says she will be urging her obstetrician colleagues to prioritise the issue. "We should not forget that the reason we do what we do is because we want to support women. We want women to have good experiences and good outcomes," she says.
Daily Mail
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Tracy Beaker star Dani Harmer details 'traumatic' five-day labour and says her partner feared losing her and their baby
Dani Harmer detailed her 'traumatic' five-day labour as she told Vanessa Feltz on her Channel 5 show that her partner feared losing both her and their baby. The Tracy Beaker actress, 36, who starred as the lead in the show, welcomed her first child Avarie-Belle, eight, with her partner Simon Brough in 2016. She went on to welcome second child, Rowan in 2022. Now the mother-of-two has revealed to Vanessa that delivering her firstborn wasn't without complications as was she was in labour for five days and it took 'a really long time to get over it'. Dani needed an emergency c-section for her first pregnancy and they faced the possibility of losing Dani and their baby. Appearing alongside James Jordan and Paula Rhone-Adrien, Dani said: 'I had a really traumatic first birth, with my first Avarie-Belle. 'I was in labour with her for five days which then resulted in an emergency cesarean - which is very different to an elective one. 'And it was really really scary. Not just for me but for my partner as well. I think it was more traumatic for him because he had to witness the whole thing. 'And it was scary for him thinking that he might not only lose his baby but he might lose me as well. 'I don't remember much of it because I was drugged up on a lot of different things, but it was an experience I really didn't want to have to repeat, so when we fell pregnant with my second, I really wanted to go for an elective caesarean. 'I found that they were really trying to persuade me to go for a natural birth and I said to them unless you can guarantee me that I'm going to give birth naturally, one hundred percent, then otherwise I will want an elective one.' Their daughter was born at 5pm on June, 29 and weighed 6lb 9oz. Dani confirmed that the trauma of her first pregnancy was the reason behind the six-year age gap between her two children. She gave birth to her second child, Rowan in February 2022 at 10.49am and weighed 8lb 3oz'. In January 2022 - a month before giving birth - the actress revealed she has been diagnosed with gestational diabetes in an Instagram post. YThe mother-of-two (pictured with Simon and her two kids) revealed to Vanessa that there was she was in labour for five days and it took 'a really long time to get over it' Dani, who is almost a mum to Rowan, two, needed an emergency c-section for her first pregnancy and they faced the possibility of losing Dani and their baby Dani posted a photo of her daily blood glucose log book as she asked her followers for their advice. Gestational diabetes is high blood sugar that can develop at any time during pregnancy but is more common in the second or third trimester, usually disappearing after the baby is born. She had also revealed that she had been experiencing Braxton Hicks contractions, also known as false labour pains, that typically are not felt until the second or third trimester. Braxton-Hicks contractions are the body's way of preparing for true labor, but they do not indicate that labor has begun.
Daily Mail
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Madeleine West details the 'traumatic' birth of her seventh child at the age of 47: 'I've never felt pain on that scale'
Madeleine West has shared candid details about the 'traumatic' birth of her seventh child. The 47-year-old former Neighbours actress penned a column for this week's Stellar magazine, explaining how she 'felt her C-section'. 'My baby's birth was capital T traumatic. I still choke up talking about it. But talk we must, because when things go pear-shaped... we don't do ourselves any favours,' she wrote. Madeleine, who gave birth last month, said she refused to be put under anaesthetic as she underwent a Caesarean section because she wanted to be 'present for my baby's first breath.' 'Suffice to say I've never felt pain on that scale... between passing out, gritting my teeth, and dropping the odd F-bomb, I did my best to make it appear tolerable to avoid sedation,' she continued. 'Immediately my body went into shock. Organs started to fail, and I swelled to Michelin Man proportions with extreme oedema.' 'But my mind proved hardest to wrangle. It replayed the sensations on an endless loop, and tries to still, striving to make sense of the incomprehensible.' Madeleine said she delivered a health baby but this was 'tarnished by pain and an utter loss of control.' It comes after Madeleine shared a touching tribute to her seven children on Mother's Day. The former Neighbours actress posted a throwback Christmas picture of herself posing with her six eldest kids to Instagram on Sunday. A smiling Madeleine can be seen sitting alongside Santa as she hugged one of her children. The actress used a smiley emoji to obscure the identity of each of her kids in the picture in order to protect their privacy. The TV star—who shares Phoenix, 19, Hendrix, 16, Xascha, 14, Xanthe, 12, and twins Xalia and Margaux, 10, her ex partner Shannon Bennett added a lengthy message to her children including her newborn in the post. 'My magnum opus SEVEN times over!' she began. 'My crazy, cantankerous, curious, clever, chaos of children (collective noun trademarked!) 'Thank you. The woman I've become, as your mum, is the best version of myself I could ever wish to be.... 'Thank you for your trust when you reach out for me. Thank you for your forgiveness when I don't have all the answers. Thank you for the love in your eyes when you call my name,' Madeleine said. 'I don't always get it right, but thank you for your patience as I try to do my best. 'The journey has not been easy, what journey ever is? 'It is an honour to bear witness to your trials and tribulations every day, and to witness the incredible people you are and contribute to become,' she continued. 'Please know I love you, now and forever, more than words can say. 'Who knew the human heart could hold so much? And who knew that love could continue to grow, expand and flourish. 'I'm so blessed to be a Mother of Many (even if you lot are a lot harder to train than dragons). 'My babies always and forever. Just call, I'm always here.'
