Maternity Services Review
Submission: Birth HealingCopyright 2008, Samantha Cambray- Founder of Birth Healing

Introduction

It is stated in the discussion paper “Improving Maternity Services in Australia” that Australia is one of the safest countries in the world to give birth, for both maternal and infant survival rates .

This is a fantastic record and one that many women are reassured by and grateful of.

Given this standing as a strong foundation, there are many calling for reforms to be made to the maternity system in this country to expand our understanding of safety to include that of wider physical safety (that is, not undertaking obstetric and surgical interventions unless medically indicated, and understanding the risks involved in these choices) and psychological safety during childbirth. In other words, we need to address birth trauma, which many women will experience.

Many women, when telling others about their traumatic birthing experience, will be told: “At least you had a healthy baby.” Whilst this statement is well intentioned, it is insensitive to the needs and emotions that birth trauma can entail. Of course, as mothers, we are overjoyed that our babies are healthy (as they are in a large proportion of traumatic births, although sadly some are not). However, what many women who have sustained birth trauma come to realise, and what wider society also needs to realise, is that is possible to feel very differently about the birth (the process) and the baby (the outcome).

What we feel needs addressing is ensuring that the process of birthing- the psychological component of becoming a mother- is given the attention it deserves, along with the attention given to physical outcomes of birth.

This submission is made on behalf of Birth Healing. The emphasis of the submission will be birth trauma, and how the maternity system effects, and can be reviewed, to address the issue of birth trauma. This issue is one of importance, which is sadly hugely underestimated and misunderstood by many.

Birth Healing is an online forum for support, healing, growth and action after birth trauma. It has been running since January this year, when the site administrator experienced birth trauma and found there were very few services targeted at people who have experienced birth trauma. Whilst it is a relatively new site, plans for the future include forming an incorporated organisation, holding face to face support meetings in various areas around Australia, and counselling services; all in aid of closing the gap where it comes to services for people recovering from birth trauma, and preventing birth trauma from occurring in the first place.

The Birth Healing website can be found at http://birthhealing.forummotion.com/

Background Information

Birth Trauma is a general term for a range of undesirable psychological consequences following childbirth- this may include Post Traumatic Stress Disorder or the symptoms thereof . The birth process, whilst natural, can often be traumatic, through the unpredictability of the event, deviations from what is considered to be a ‘normal’ birth are common, and some births may be life threatening to mother and/or baby .

Cheryl Beck, Nursing Professor at the University of Connecticut states: “Birth trauma is an event that occurs during any phase of the childbearing process than involves actual or threatened serious injury or death to the mother or her infant. The trauma can be classified as a negative outcome, such as a postpartum haemorrhage, or psychological distress. Experiencing this extremely traumatic stressor, a woman’s response can be intense fear, helplessness, loss of control, and horror.”

Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is one condition linked with birth trauma. PTSD is an anxiety disorder which is developed after exposure to a traumatic event where horror, fear and/or helplessness are experienced. Symptoms and effects can include nightmares and flashbacks, intrusive thoughts, emotional numbing and character restriction, psychological distress in response to internal or external cues that symbolise the event, physiological reactivity to these cues, avoidance of stimuli associated with the trauma, detachment, sense of a shortened future, hyper vigilance and other symptoms . Obviously, this creates many problems for the new mother.

In one study (Alcorn, 2006), 45.5% of women had traumatic birth events as classified by the DSM-IV (a diagnostic tool for psychological conditions)-that is, partial PTSD, and 53.8% reported their birth as traumatic when asked “Was your birth traumatic?” This study also found that 6.3% of women had full PTSD at 3 months post partum .

Another study (White, Matthey, Boyd and Barnett, 2006), found that co morbidity of PTSD and post natal depression is high .

Maternal distress following childbirth can affect the effectiveness of the functioning of the maternal role, depression and anxiety, adaptation to motherhood, self perceptions, lifestyle, and quality of personal relationships, among other things .

Predictors of birth trauma and PTSD symptomology include low levels of support from staff and partner, low control of birth and interventions, patterns of blame, previous mental health difficulties, trait anxiety ; a high level of obstetric intervention, dissatisfaction with intrapartum care ; premature birth, birth of babies then placed in a neonatal intensive care unit, birth of a baby with an illness or disability, women who experienced a medical complication during or soon after birth, or whose baby experienced a medical complication during or soon after birth, women who sustained an injury during the birthing process, women who had their labours induced, those who had caesarean, forceps or vacuum extraction deliveries, who had an episitomy and those who experienced still birth or neonatal death of their baby .

Anecdotal evidence from the Birth Healing website reveals that common themes in birth trauma include loss of control, birth and health care professionals who lack adequate listening skills, post partum haemorrhage, induction of labour, caesarean, forceps or vacuum delivery, episiotomy, frequent and/or forceful vaginal examinations, artificial rupture of membranes, being isolated from support people and loved ones, a lack of support and attentive health care post natally, and a lack of dignity afforded to the birthing woman.