Breaking the stigma: Seeking help for birth trauma

For Every Birth. For Every Baby. For Every Family.

Birth trauma is considered to be any physical or emotional distress that is caused by giving birth. It could be a result of:

• A difficult labour, causing a long/painful delivery
• Complications with delivering the baby, causing a traumatic birth
• Emergency treatment
• An unplanned c-section
• Traumatic and shocking experiences during birth
• A stillbirth or neonatal death 

In some cases, it can develop into a type of postnatal PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), which can cause sufferers to feel extremely anxious and scarred from the trauma of giving birth. Birth trauma may also be a result of injuries your newborn experienced during childbirth.

Recognising birth trauma signs and understanding how to cope is essential for anyone suffering from injuries after giving birth.

This guide will provide you with a comprehensive understanding of what birth trauma is, its impacts, and the avenues for seeking help, including legal support.

What is birth trauma?

Birth trauma is defined as any emotional or physical distress that is endured by an event related to childbirth.

It could be in the form of physical injuries (such as perineal tears or emergency caesarean section that wasn’t anticipated) or psychological distress (causing PTSD, anxiety or depression) – each of which can have an equally debilitating effect on someone.

If you suspect you, or your loved one is suffering from birth trauma, this is a serious and valid concern that needs to be addressed with support.

You might also consider that your, or your loved one’s birth trauma injuries are a result of medical negligence. If this is the case, a birth injury claim lawyer could help you to receive compensation for your birth-related trauma.

Common types of birth trauma

Physical injuries as a result of childbirth:

Typically, physical injuries from giving birth involve damage to the pelvic floor or to the perineal area. They could include:

• Muscle damage
• Nerve damage
• Pelvic organ prolapse
• Perineal tear
• Complications following caesarean section 

In some cases, physical injuries can then cause psychological effects, including:

• PTSD – symptoms including flashbacks, anxiety attacks, heart palpitations and sweating
• Anxiety
• Depression

Injuries to your newborn through childbirth:

Sometimes in childbirth, infants may be injured – especially if they’ve been delivered vaginally. Although caesarean delivery may cause some injuries, the incidence is 60% lower than when the baby is delivered vaginally. However, where there is a delay in delivering your baby, the baby may suffer with irreversible brain injury. 

They might experience:

• Scalp bruising or swelling
• Fractured bones
• Brain bleeds
• Brain injuries
• Nerve damage

These injuries can affect the nerves, brain, or muscles, and in some cases can result in life-changing conditions such as cerebral palsy, Erb’s palsy or Klumpke’s palsy. If you suspect your child was injured due to medical negligence, please call us to speak to our specialist birth injury solicitors, or visit our contact page.

Birth trauma stigma and its impact

Although birth trauma is a medically recognised condition, there are often societal misconceptions surrounding it.

A lot of parents – whether first-time or not – find it difficult to speak up about these traumatic events that happened during childbirth, even if they are not coping afterwards. There’s a societal pressure to carry on with life, and people often excuse the trauma as “part-and-parcel” of the birth process – seeing the baby as adequate compensation for their distress.

However, this stigma is dangerous for people suffering from birth trauma. It prevents them from seeking help and potentially prolonging the consequences of this repressed trauma. If left untreated, it could affect their mental health, relationships and future pregnancies, as well as their ability to bond with their newborn.

Birth trauma is a complex and comprehensive condition, which should be regarded as a separate postpartum mental health problem.

Breaking the silence: why it’s important to speak up about birth trauma

Seeking support for birth trauma is crucial, so it’s important to try to speak up and break the silence of the stigmas surrounding it.

By talking openly about your birth trauma – whether that’s with your partner, your family, close friends and/or medical professionals – your birth trauma from childbirth can be addressed and dealt with, helping you move on with your life.

Recognising the signs of birth trauma

In order to speak up and seek support, you’ll need to know how to identify the signs of birth trauma.

Common physical signs can include:

• Pain
• Bleeding
• Dizziness
• Gastrointestinal upsets
• Chest pain
• Incontinence
• Difficulty emptying bowels

Psychological signs of birth trauma could be:

• Reliving the event (e.g. nightmare, flashbacks, intrusive thoughts)
• Physical sensations (e.g. sweating, trembling, heart palpitations or nausea)
• Hypervigilance (e.g. extremely alert, easily angry/upset, problems sleeping)
• Avoidance (e.g. blocking out memories of what’s happened, lacking emotion/feeling numb and detached from your feelings, or using alcohol/recreational drugs to avoid memories)

Your baby may also exhibit physical signs of birth trauma, including:

• Arched back while crying
• Difficulty sucking, eating or swallowing
• Bruising on the face or scalp
• Swelling on the face or scalp
• Excessive crying
• Excessive drooling
• Low heart rate
• Muscle stillness
• Sensitivity to light

If you relate to any of these symptoms after childbirth, or you can recognise these signs in your newborn, it’s important to seek professional and legal help as soon as possible.

The role of legal support

If you believe your birth injury could be a result of medical negligence, legal support can play a crucial role in addressing and treating your birth trauma.

Early intervention with legal support is also preferable, as it can help facilitate access to the necessary medical and therapeutic services.

So, as well as potentially receiving compensation for your birth trauma injury, by pursuing a legal claim, you’ll have access to resources for physical recovery, rehabilitation and long-term care (if required), such as assistance with life planning.

If there is a brain injury to the baby as a result of the birth, legal support could also set you up with a Court of Protection Team if there is compensation recovered. This team can help to manage compensation, provide access to support resources such as therapies, care, accommodation, and provide unbiased independent advice.

Seeking legal help isn’t about blaming someone – it’s simply about ensuring that the proper care and support have been given to someone in need.

When to consider legal action

You might be unsure whether legal action is appropriate, so here are a few examples of medical negligence causing birth trauma:

• Improper use of forceps (could cause an injury to the infant)
• Failure to detect foetal distress
• Inadequate monitoring of mother/baby
• Birth asphyxia
• Incorrect use of surgical instruments
• Undiagnosed and untreated placenta previa (when the placenta blocks the baby’s exit from the vagina)
• Undiagnosed complications with your pregnancy pre-birth

If you have suffered any of the above, you might be able to make a claim for birth trauma injuries. If you’re still unsure whether your birth trauma would be classed as medical negligence, give our team of expert solicitors a call on 0330 175 7651 for advice. Or contact us online.

Steps to seek legal help

The process of seeking help for a traumatic birth is as follows:

Step 1: Recognise medical negligence

Understanding that your birth injury, or your child’s injury, could be a result of medical negligence is the first step in seeking legal action.

Step 2: Gathering evidence

In order to make a birth trauma claim, you’ll be required to provide evidence for your case.

This will likely be in the form of medical documents but could require photographic evidence, too. If you or your child has suffered physical injuries, be sure to document them for the case.

Step 3: Understanding time limits

As with any other type of claim, from the date of the birth injury, you have a three-year window to make a claim.

However, this time window can be extended to three years from the date of discovery if the birth injury isn’t immediately apparent.

For any claims made on behalf of a child, you can claim until their 18th birthday. After this, the child themself will have until their 21st birthday to start the court process.

Step 4: What to expect during your birth trauma consultation with a solicitor

When you contact us, we will ask you a few questions as part of a quick assessment. This can either be completed on the phone, or through an online form. Make sure to provide as much information as you can, as this will help determine the next steps in your claim.

Next, our team will assess whether or not you have a claim and liaise with a medical negligence lawyer to take your claim forward.

You will then receive your decision on whether you have a valid claim, and whether you could be eligible for compensation.

Preparing for your legal consultation

To prepare for your first meeting with your solicitor, it’s important to:

• Bring all evidence with you to support your claim
• Prepare a list of questions you want to ask (for example, how you will be informed of case progression, their approach to winning the case, predicted outcome of the case)
• Inform your solicitor if you’re bringing somebody with you to the meeting for support
• If you have a disability, make sure this is known to your solicitor so they can provide you with any reasonable adjustments
• Ensure the meeting is at a time convenient to you so you can carefully explain your case in as much detail as possible
• Make sure during the meeting that you understand how to access resources (e.g. rehabilitation therapies such as physiotherapy, speech and language support, assistive technology support, and more).

The claims process: what to expect

At Fletchers Solicitors, we have a simple 6-step process:

1. Your initial enquiry: Our legal experts can answer all questions you might have, with strictly confidential calls.
2. Case review: One of our specialists will assess your claim and give you an honest assessment of your prospects.
3. Investigation: If your case is accepted, we will start to gather evidence to support your claim. This could include your losses, such as loss of earnings or out-of-pocket expenses.
4. Medical evidence: We’ll then access your medical records to get an understanding of your injuries. We’ll also discuss how the traumatic birth has affected your work or lifestyle. We will seek medical evidence to see whether your claim is supported by a medical professional. In some cases, more than one medical expert opinion may be required. 
5. Negotiation: We’ll work with the other party to negotiate appropriate compensation for your birth trauma injuries and losses. We’ll keep you updated at all times during this period.
6. Compensation: At this stage, negotiation is complete, and your compensation is secured.

It’s important to note that traumatic birth claims can take anywhere from months to a few years or even longer to reach a settlement. Once you have your initial consultation with your solicitor, they will advise on a rough timeline for how long your claim might take to complete. Each claim is different so it is important that you seek advice at the earliest opportunity.  

Finding the right birth trauma solicitor

Choosing a solicitor with specific expertise in birth injury cases is essential for your case to be as seamless as possible.

Medical negligence lawyers are expertly equipped to deal with all things related to birth trauma, so will understand the process and how to move things along as fast as possible.

Here at Fletchers Solicitors, we have a specialised Birth Injury Team, with a team of experienced solicitors well prepared to handle complex cases. As well as supporting you with potential compensation, they offer a holistic approach to support – ensuring that you’ll have access to the most appropriate care and support facilities.

Why choose Fletchers for your birth trauma claim

We’re home to one of the largest and most respected birth injury teams in the UK. With decades of combined experience, our expert lawyers are trusted to handle some of the most complex and high-value birth injury claims across the country.

We’ve helped claims for infants, such as a case involving oxygen starvation at birth due to negligence. Damages of over £4.5 million were achieved, alongside annual payments to support the claimant and family.

We also supported a first-time Mum who suffered from sepsis due to a vaginal swap being left behind following an emergency c-section. She received a six-figure settlement for her traumatic labour and medical negligence.

We helped Thomas’ family after a traumatic birth left Thomas with Erb’s Palsy.

We’ve also supported maternity patients who experienced 3rd and 4th-degree tears during childbirth.

By choosing Fletchers Solicitors, we can help to guide our clients through the legal process, while also connecting them with the necessary medical and therapeutic services they need.

We provide a compassionate approach with comprehensive support services. If you’re interested in learning more, or want to be assessed for a potential birth trauma claim, start your claim online or call us on 0330 175 7651 for free advice.

Support beyond legal help: resources for healing

As well as filing a birth trauma claim, it’s important to ensure you’re getting the medical help you need. There are additional support resources for dealing with birth trauma, such as:

• Counselling services: Such as Mind, or using NHS 111 to request counselling.
• Support groups: Such as the Birth Trauma Association, or the PANDAS Foundation UK.
• Therapeutic interventions: For example, speech and language therapy, CBT, EMDR and occupational therapy. These services can be accessed by referral from your doctor, or you can seek private treatment if necessary.

For a confidential consultation, get in touch with our expert team here at Fletchers Solicitors. We adopt an understanding, empathic approach and a commitment to supporting the families affected by birth trauma.