The delivery of a baby can be a positive experience for some women, but for others it can be very negative, resulting in physical and/or psychological injuries (trauma).

What is Birth Trauma?

Birth trauma is defined here as including:

• physically damaging birth processes which can result in life-changing symptoms of pelvic floor problems.
• psychological problems arising from the circumstances of the delivery (e.g. “wrong” location; pre-term; support people not present) or the process (e.g. labour too quick, prolonged, inadequate pain relief; feeling of loss of control; emergency caesarean section; concerns about  survival of baby or self),
• an ‘uneventful’ or satisfactory delivery from the professional point of view (mother and baby well; no physical complications), but traumatising for the woman as she feels unsupported or misunderstood by the health professionals.

Our website was created to provide support for affected women and their families and education for a wide range of relevant health professionals, including general practitioners, midwives, nurses, obstetrician/gynaecologists, psychologists and psychiatrists.

Quick Facts about physical trauma

Our research suggests that 10-20% of first-time mothers, between 15000 and 30000 women in Australia per year, may suffer major irreversible physical birth trauma in the form of pelvic floor muscle and/or anal sphincter tears.

Statistically we know that up to 20% of all women who deliver a baby vaginally will end up with surgery for pelvic organ prolapse, anal or urinary incontinence, and yet few talk about such health problems to friends and family or to health professionals.

Who are we and why are we collecting funds?

The significant personal, social and economic costs highlight the urgent need to reduce these impacts on families and the community. To do this, the ABTA: Australasian Birth Trauma Association has been established to give a nationwide and international, dedicated focus to reducing the burden of birth trauma in Australia and New Zealand.

How will the funds be used?

ABTA is a not-for-profit organisation that works with affected women and their families, health professionals and other not-for-profit organisations to reduce the debilitating impact of birth trauma.