Avoiding birth trauma

Women on the Line

On this week’s episode we talk about birth trauma, why so many women and birthing people in so-called Australia are experiencing it, and how it can be avoided. We revisit a conversation with Naarm-based birth educator Vanessa Shribman from August 2023, a few months after New South Wales began its inquiry into birth trauma, which received over 4000 submissions. The inquiry found that 1 in 3 women experiences birth trauma with some of the main reasons being high rates of medical interventions causing alternative risk, lack of consent from birthing people before initiating medical procedures, midwives being overworked and burning out, and a lack of continuity of care.Vanessa’s work aims to empower women with the knowledge they need to know their rights, trust their bodies, and advocate for themselves in a medical system that is failing them. This conversation first aired on 3CR Tuesday Breakfast on 22 August 2023.