BTA in the News

The team at Birth Trauma Australia work tirelessly to raise awareness about all aspects of birth-related trauma by sharing information, lived experience and stories through traditional and online media.

If you work in media, and would like to contact our team about any news opportunities please reach out by email: support@birthtrauma.org.au

TV, Radio and Newspaper

NOUS GROUP

Making an invisible burden visible: Quantifying the hidden economic impact of birth trauma in Australia.

Birth Trauma Australia sought to address a longstanding gap in Australia’s healthcare and policy systems: the under-recognition of the economic burden associated with birth injuries and ongoing conditions after childbirth.

THE AGE

Fifty per cent of women experience this health condition. Why has nobody warned them?

The memory is etched in Monique Vogt’s mind. It was 2022, and she was being wheeled down the corridor of the hospital, looking up at the fluorescent lights above.

ABC NEWS

Pelvic organ prolapse common in Australia, but stigma remains and surgical waits grow.

While other new mums were making friends at playgroups and navigating the demands of early parenthood, Amy Lovell was grappling with the aftermath of a significant birth injury.

IN DAILY

‘What if I die?’ SA mum opens up on traumatic birth.

As an SA senator establishes a new committee to examine women’s health, one Adelaide mum shares her own birth trauma story.

HER CANBERRA

The $17.5 billion hidden crisis: World-first report hits close to home for Canberra women.

When Ayla Lorenzo gave birth to her second child in 2021, it didn’t feel like a moment worth celebrating.

SBS NEWS

Hysterical: a midwife told Sam to take panadol for her pain as her baby went into distress.

More than one in three women in Australia have experienced birth trauma, and one in ten say they have experienced obstetric violence.

ABC NEWS BREAKFAST

THANK YOU to ABC News Breakfast for having us on for Birth Trauma Awareness Week.

It was incredibly generous and courageous of our advocate, Elena to join our CEO, Amy Dawes on such an important segment.

LADIES, WE NEED TO TALK PODCAST

One in three Australian women describe their births as traumatic.

Yumi Stynes hears from women still coming to terms with their birth experiences, sometimes years later, and finds out what can be done to prevent traumatic births.

THE AUSTRALIAN

“Dehumanising process” Vanessa doubts she’ll give birth again.

Birth injury affects an estimated 18 per cent of mothers, and sometimes the impacts are lifelong. A new economic analysis has for the first time quantified the cost to the nation.

WOMEN’S AGENDA

There is no ‘bouncing back’ from childbirth trauma without knowledge and resources.

Birth trauma isn’t rare, and it isn’t only tied to dramatic emergencies.

BODY AND SOUL

Is your postpartum pain normal? The truth about birth trauma and healing.

One in three Australian women experiences birth trauma, yet it is often dismissed as ‘normal’. Here’s how to recognise the physical and psychological signs – and how to get the support you need.

MAMAMIA

‘I was five weeks postpartum when I felt something fall out. My body is still paying the price.’

Six years after delivering her first child, Ali Minichiello is still dealing with life-altering injuries.

NEWCASTLE HERALD

“I was forced to have a vaginal birth when I should have had a caesarean”.

April Hagan from New Lambton, lives with the scars of birth-related trauma.

WOMEN’S AGENDA

Two in five women who experience birth trauma also develop PTSD, new report finds.

As Australia marks Birth Trauma Awareness Week, new research is shining a light on the significant mental health impacts that can follow traumatic birth experiences, with two in five women who experience physical birth trauma also developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

CANBERRA TIMES

Six years after delivering her first child, Ali Minichiello is still dealing with life-altering injuries.

She has spent at least $22,000 on treating her conditions, and continues to suffer from urinary incontinence when she goes for a run.

THE CONVERSATION

Seeing the same midwife or doctor in pregnancy and labour reduces the risk of birth trauma

Every pregnant woman wants to deliver a healthy baby. During labour and birth, women also want to feel listened to and respected.

THE EXAMINER

Horrific stories of lasting birth trauma in Tasmania revealed

Up to 770 Tasmanian women could experience a birth injury each year, according to data extrapolated by the Australasian Birth Trauma Association.

KIDSPOT

It read: ‘For pregnancy and labour – to help minimise epidurals’

Do these cards tell women that if they ask for help, they are weak?

AL JAZEERA

‘I wish I was listened to’: NSW to respond to landmark birth trauma inquiry

The inquiry has called for sweeping reforms amid concerns about the care women receive during pregnancy and birth.

SBS NEWS

A midwife told Sam to have Panadol for ‘intense backpain’. Her baby had to be resuscitated

The report from a NSW birth trauma inquiry has made a series of recommendations, including some related to informed consent and continuity of care for mothers.

SBS NEWS

Headlines on Health

“Women want culturally sensitive trauma-informed continuity of care: landmark birth trauma inquiry reports”

KIDSPOT

‘I had a traumatic birth, now I want to help other mums cope with theirs’

“I didn’t know what had happened to me, I didn’t have my baby, and people were just chatting around me while I was shaking violently in the bed,” Amber-Lee says about the birth of her first child.

ABC NEWS RADIO

Amy Dawes live interview with ABC South East

Scott Bevan for ABC South East (Radio).

ABC NEWS RADIO

Amy Dawes live interview with ABC Broken Hill

Greta Jackson for ABC Broken Hill (Radio).

9 HONEY

Aussie mum’s silent battle after ‘nightmare’ pregnancies and births: ‘Still suffering to this day’

With tears streaming down her cheeks Lauren Hayward tapped at the keypad of her mobile phone. By morning she had four lengthy letters she hoped to never send.

KIDSPOT

‘I could barely walk after taking my baby home – I didn’t feel OK’

“My doctor told me I couldn’t do the sports I love or lift my daughter. My entire identity had been shattered… and I thought I was the only person going through that.”

7 NEWS

Birth Trauma Awareness Week shining light on ‘invisible’ pain one in three Aussies suffer

Sydney mum Monique came close to death during childbirth last year. This is what she wants expecting parents to know.

ABC NEWS

Birth trauma’s debilitating impacts on physical and mental health revealed in Australian survey

When Amy Mageropoulos was pregnant with her first son Bobby, she dreamt about the time they’d spend together when he was born.

AUSTRALIAN BIRTH STORIES

Podcast – Amy

In today’s episode I interview Amy, the founder of the Australiasian Birth Trauma Association. In honour of her experience and Birth Trauma Awareness Week, Amy talks about the physical trauma that resulted from an instrumental (forceps) birth

SBS INSIGHT

Experts answer what women want to know

A pelvic health physiotherapist and a clinical midwifery consultant for NSW Health on what women need to be aware of before, and after, birth.

MAMAMIA

My birth was traumatic in a way I never expected.

For my whole life, I had been sent the message that the days on which your children are born, are the most incredible days of your existence. These memorable days are so joyous that they somehow overwhelm the pain associated with labour.

DAILY MAIL

Mother relives her traumatic experience

An Australian mum relived the harrowing moment when she thought she was going to die after losing 75 per cent of her body’s blood while giving birth.

The hidden pain of birth trauma

Australia’s healthcare system is supposed to be amongst the best in the world but of the women who give birth naturally – one in three suffer some form of physical trauma. A trauma which too often goes unspoken.

Postpartum PTSD

Post-traumatic stress disorder is a condition usually associated with war veterans but it’s also affecting an alarming number of new mums.