Women in labour ‘bullied or harassed’ by overstretched staff
Giving birth is a tricky, painful and unpredictable affair for all women, but according to a new survey, nearly 70 per cent of us fail to get the birth experience we really want.
Whilst most of us wish in hindsight we had done some things slightly differently, for some women, what should be the happiest day of their life turns into one of the worst.
According to findings by the Birth Trauma Association (BTA), one-third of women said they were not treated with dignity or respect during labour.
A lack of proper information or explanations as to what was happening and why left women troubled afterwards.
Disturbingly, some women told the BTA they felt bullied or harassed by overstretched staff and later felt ignored on the post-natal ward.
They said that attempts they made to get an explanation for what went wrong were dismissed.
One women told them: “The worst day of my life, was over three years ago, still have post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), not taken seriously by GP, tried to complain to hospital, no explanation given. I still think about it every
day. It has ruined my life, I feel it will be the end of me.”
Another said: “My daughter’s birth and subsequent days were some of the worst of my life and I still have nightmares about them. I had a complete loss of control and no one ever really communicated what was going on or why at any point.”
It is estimated that following the birth of their baby, around 10,000 women in the UK develop Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and post-natal depression (PND).
It is believed that many more, around 200,000 women feel traumatised by childbirth and develop some of the symptoms of PTSD.
Whilst a post-traumatic stress disorder is more commonly associated with military combat or terrorist atrocities, it is now accepted that it can occur due to a traumatic birth.
Such symptoms include a response of intense fear or horror to that experience, flashbacks, nightmares or panic when reminded of the event.
One Bristol mother who asked not to be named told Chopsy Baby: “Once I was in the hospital I felt bullied by staff to do things their way. They would listen politely and smile and then for a good couple of hours repeatedly come back to hound me again with how they wanted to do things, not how I wanted to do things. In the end I had to do it their way because I had no choice.”
The BTA was established very recently in 2004 to help women suffering from PTSD and is the only UK organisation to help women with their bad birth experiences.
Co-founder of the Birth Trauma Association, Maureen Treadwell said: “It is a tragedy that so many women are left traumatised by their experience of childbirth. Poor maternity care impacts on women, children and their families and has huge social and ultimately financial costs. The same issues arise again and again – we know the problems, let us hope that this new government will find solutions.”
For more information, visit www.birthtraumaassociation.org.uk