APPG Birth Trauma Report 2024 and Compensation for Maternity Negligence
The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Birth Trauma has published the results of its recent inquiry.
An overview
The inquiry addressed issues of both physical and mental trauma as a product of childbirth, eliciting evidence from parents, maternity professionals and academics. It considered not only the impact on the new mother but on the wider family, as well as noting the financial cost to those affected and to the NHS through negligence litigation claims. It sought examples of good practice not just in the UK but abroad, aiming for a nationwide standard for maternity services.
The report recognised that the devastation of mental trauma could leave a new mother suffering from PTSD with the consequences rippling out into the wider family and affecting the child.
Physically, the report recognised the shocking impact of severe birth tears, described within the report as 'some of the most devastating accounts'.
Identifying problems within maternity services such as a failure to listen, a lack of informed consent, poor communication and a lack of pain relief, the report concluded that 'poor care is all-too-frequently tolerated as normal.'
Severe birth tears
In relation to severe physical trauma, the focus was on obstetric anal sphincter injuries, also referred to as 3rd and 4th degree tears. Undiagnosed and unrepaired, these appalling birth injuries can cause permanent bowel incontinence and the many and varied distressing issues associated with such disability.
Noting that these life-changing injuries can affect anywhere between 3% and 10% of vaginal births, it was also observed by one obstetric professional that, out of 200 women whom he had seen with 3rd or 4th degree tears, 'in 60% of cases, the tear had been missed when the baby was born.'
Compensation for medical negligence
If a woman suffers a poor outcome following a severe birth tear which would not have been the case with an acceptable level of maternity care, she may be entitled to make a claim for compensation.
A successful compensation claim can address the financial issues caused by the negligence such as a loss of income or the costs of care associated with the incontinence, and in some cases the psychological, symptoms.
Such claims are, not surprisingly, extremely complex, requiring a thorough assessment of both the quality of maternity care experienced by the woman as well as an analysis of its impact on her.
Speak to a specialist solicitor
Glynns Solicitors is a specialist medical negligence legal practice with extensive expertise in birth tear claims.
If you are struggling with the impact of a birth tear due to medical negligence, contact us today to talk to a solicitor, free of charge about the possibility of making a claim.
Please call us on 0800 234 3300 (or from a mobile 01275 334030) or complete our Online Enquiry Form.
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