Birth trauma

About one in three people who gave birth say their experience was traumatic. This means it felt very upsetting or even scary. We know that physical pain and emotional distress often happen together.

That's why we wanted to make sure our service supports people in a kind, safe and caring way — without causing more harm.

To help us do this, we asked to hear about your experience of birth — especially if you had a perineal injury.

What we did

In September 2025 we invited women to share their experiences of birth, particularly where those experiences felt frightening, distressing or traumatic. People took part through an online survey that was designed to be gentle, flexible and trauma‑informed. Participation was voluntary, and people were able to skip questions or take breaks if they needed to. We are deeply grateful to everyone who chose to share their experiences, knowing that this can be difficult to revisit.

 

What we heard

In total, 93 women chose to share their birth experiences with us.  

Many people told us that their birth experiences continued to affect them long after the event, both physically and emotionally. Some described feeling unheard, uninformed or unsupported during their care, while others shared how kindness, clear communication and compassion from individual staff members helped them feel safer. We also heard that traumatic experiences can influence people's trust in healthcare services and affect whether they feel able to seek care later on. Throughout the feedback, people emphasised the importance of being listened to, believed, and treated with dignity at every stage.

 

What happens next

The insights from this engagement will help shape improvements to maternity and perinatal care across Kent and Medway. What people shared will inform trauma‑aware practice, staff learning and service development, with a focus on listening, communication and emotional safety. As this work continues, we will work with clinical and system partners to reflect on the findings and consider practical steps that can improve experiences and reduce the risk of harm in the future. We remain committed to learning from lived experience and using people's voices to help create kinder, safer care.

 

We want to thank everyone who contributed to this work.

 

A report will be published at a later date.

More information about accessing support after birth