Birth trauma awareness week 2026
THEME: The cost of birth trauma
The arrival of a baby is a positive event for many parents.
But for some, it can be a mixed experience or even traumatic.
Birth-related trauma can be physical or psychological, or a combination of both.
The impacts of birth-related trauma are often immense, long-lasting and widely felt.
They affect not only the Women+ living with these injuries, but also their families, workplaces, communities and the broader economy.
This Birth Trauma Awareness Week, we’re counting the cost.
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The impacts of birth-related trauma extend far beyond physical health.
Birth-related injuries affect mental wellbeing, relationships, parenting, social connection and confidence.
These impacts can persist for years after birth and can, in some cases, be lifelong.
Importantly, these harms do not affect Women+ alone. The impacts ripple outward to partners, children, families and communities.
HOW TO GET INVOLVED THIS BIRTH TRAUMA AWARENESS WEEK
What did your birth cost you?
This Birth Trauma Awareness Week, we’re counting the cost.
Download the MY BIRTH COST ME social media pack and share the ways that birth-related trauma has impacted you.
Share Your Story
If you would like to get involved by sharing your own experience of birth-related trauma, we invite you to share your story.
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HEALTH PROFESSIONALS
1 in 10 women emerges from childbirth with PTSD. The devastating impacts of this type of trauma suffer from a lack of awareness and progress, meaning that families continue to suffer in silence.
We will spread evidence-based information so that we can better prevent, diagnose and treat this type of trauma.
We aim to elevate the voices of parents and health professionals impacted by this silent epidemic by sharing their stories and real-life experiences and getting them in front of as many people as possible.
We want impacted individuals to know that they do not need to suffer in silence.
Postpartum PTSD is probably more common than most people realise. For some, symptoms of trauma may be treated as depression or anxiety. For others, ongoing symptoms aren’t noticed until some months after the birth – they may have been managed until they become too difficult to cope with. Lots of people may not realise they have trauma until they are pregnant or trying to conceive a second time.
We advocate improving screening and access to treatment, including greater access to affordable treatment options and, ultimately, better outcomes for all those affected.