Medical experts and advocates are raising urgent concerns about what they describe as a systemic failure within Australia's maternity care, warning that escalating numbers of women are suffering significant psychological and physical harm during childbirth.
A Personal Story of Trauma and Dismissal
For mother-of-four Giuditta Tomasini, her distressing journey began with her first pregnancy. While the pregnancy itself was straightforward, she claims her concerns were immediately dismissed upon arriving at the hospital around 40 weeks. "It started with this not being believed, not being trusted," Tomasini recounted.
Despite expressing that she did not feel ready, medical staff proceeded with an induction. After a gruelling 20-hour labour, her baby's heart rate dropped, leading to an emergency caesarean section. The emotional shock from that experience, she says, lingered for years, compounded by the language used by healthcare providers. "The words that they kept throwing at me was, 'your labour failed, your labour failed'," she said. This left her with a profound sense of failure, thinking, "'oh wow, okay, I can't give birth, I'm a failed woman and mother.'"
A Systemic Issue with Alarming Statistics
Tomasini's story is not isolated but reflects a much broader, systemic problem according to specialists. Perinatal health psychologist Dr Heather Matner states that the prevalence of birth trauma in Australia is significantly underestimated. With no formal national data collection, the true scale remains hidden, but existing research indicates a startling reality.
Current estimates suggest at least one in two Australian women experience some form of physical or psychological trauma during birth. Dr Matner believes this figure is conservative, suggesting the rate could be as high as 70 percent. "It's a really frightening statistic for women at a time when people are having less than 2.3 babies per family," Matner noted, highlighting how a traumatic first birth can deter women from having more children.
The long-term consequences are severe, with formal rates of post-traumatic stress disorder among perinatal women in Australia sitting at about 30 percent. "Women experience trauma and harm just because they want to have a baby in Australia. It's shocking," Dr Matner said.
Calls for Change and a Path Forward
The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RANZCOG) has acknowledged that more must be done. RANZCOG president Dr Nisha Khot admitted, "Let's be honest, we have not been very good at recognising ... birth trauma that is psychological rather than physical."
The college has initiated a pilot program to help clinicians identify and respond to birth trauma, but its funding is set to expire. Dr Khot emphasised that preventing trauma is a shared responsibility across the medical, midwifery, and allied health professions, achievable through "better listening to what women want and having those respectful discussions."
A significant step towards reform will be Australia's first-ever national conference dedicated to respectful maternity care, scheduled for March in Brisbane. The event aims to unite women with lived experience, midwives, obstetricians, researchers, and policymakers to transform how maternity care is delivered.
For Giuditta Tomasini, who later experienced two natural births after a clarifying and devastating miscarriage, respect is the cornerstone. "If you have a great birth, you then, for myself at least, I have had a lot more confidence going into motherhood and caring for that baby after," she explained. Because, as she puts it, birth is only the beginning.
