Birth Injury

Maternal Injury and Birth Trauma

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Maternal injuries sustained during pregnancy and childbirth

We are specialists in birth injury claims including physical and psychological injuries sustained by a mother during pregnancy and childbirth. We understand how a traumatic birth experience can have lasting effects on a mother’s physical and mental wellbeing and help many families obtain answers for went wrong, and financial compensation to support their recovery.

In many cases, there is also a claim for the child, who also may have been injured due to avoidable trauma or delays in delivery. We have successfully obtained compensation for many children who have suffered an injury at birth. If your child suffered preventable harm during pregnancy or childbirth, either alongside your own injuries or independently, contact us for a free case review or initial assessment.

Who are the HSIB

Physical injuries

Some examples of physical injuries could include:

  • Vaginal tears: Although common in childbirth, vaginal tears should be recognised and repaired as soon as possible to prevent long term problems. This doesn’t always happen, and a new mother can be sent home only to suffer distressing and debilitating symptoms. Avoidable tearing can also be caused by improper use of forceps, mismanagement of labour or failure to perform an episiotomy.
  • There can also be issues around whether a mother has given informed consent around the method of delivery, and whether in fact, a caesarean section rather than an assisted or instrumental delivery should have been offered.
  • Post partum haemorrhage can happen, which if not recognised and treated soon enough, can lead to the need for hysterectomy, blood transfusions, and in the worst cases, maternal death.

In the postpartum period, mothers are also at increased risk of issues like infection and sepsis, or having retained placenta or products of conception, or a deep vein thrombosis or stroke, which require further medical intervention and can lead to long term problems.  

Psychological injury following birth trauma

Psychological harm is common following a traumatic birth, and this can be anything from low mood or anxiety to postpartum depression and PTSD, all of which can have a severe impact on the quality of the mother’s life. This can affect their ability to return to work, relationships with others, ability to carry out self-care, care of their baby or other children, and much more.

Symptoms may present themselves immediately but sometimes they may appear days, weeks or months after the event. If you have been psychologically harmed by a preventable injury sustained during the birth of your child, we can help you pursue a claim against your maternity care provider, which, if successful, would help support you, your baby and your family in your recovery

We are here to support you every step of the way. We work with several charities and organisations up and down the UK that support new mothers and families dealing with the impact of a traumatic birth.

Consultant psychiatrist, Dr Rebecca Moore, co-founder of Make Birth Better and an expert in birth trauma, gives us her advice for those who have experienced a traumatic birth.

Read Dr Rebecca Moore's advice

Birth trauma in the news

In recent times, the topic of birth trauma has been prevalent in the media, and in 2024 the National Birth Trauma Inquiry took place and a report on its findings was published by MP Theo Clark. The inquiry heard stories and voices of more than 1,300 women about their birthing experiences, and called for a national plan to improve maternity care across the UK.

Many of our own clients have been deeply affected by birth trauma, and some of their stories have also featured in national news coverage; most recently Robyn Davis and Chloe Vowels who both lost their babies at University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust. Chloe and Robyn join a group of other parents, all calling for an independent review of the trust and the levels of maternity care they received.

Alongside the birth trauma inquiry, a study from the House of Commons in 2023, revealed black women were almost four times more likely, and Asian women twice as likely, to die within the perinatal period. The study also estimated that improvements in care may have made a difference in the outcome of 38% of the women who died. This devastating statistic highlights evident examples of healthcare discrimination, and a serve lack of cultural understanding.

For the same reasons, black or other ethnic minorities infants, may face a higher risk of injury due to professional prejudice during labour. Mothers may feel unsupported during this time, both mentally and physically, with a lack of community or professional support. As part of our commitment to our community we support the Motherhood Group, a social enterprise that supports the Black maternal experience by delivering community-based events, training workshops, peer-to-peer support, national campaigns and culturally sensitive programmes for Black mothers.

The Motherhood Group

As leading national birth injury specialists, we routinely come across institutional discrimination and bias which may have an impact on the care and treatment a family can receive. We are here to listen to any concerns you may have about your maternity care and any prejudices you may have encountered. We will advocate for you and strive to do our part in ensuring safe and equal care for all, regardless of age, gender, race, or disability.

Contact us

Call us - 0345 241 0154

Speak to a member of our team for a free initial discussion to see how we can help you further. We provide a free case review and can provide you with a second opinion if your claim has been investigated before.

Email us - enquiries@clmedilaw.co.uk

One of our team will acknowledge your email and make arrangements to discuss your query in more detail at a suitable time.

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Experts in birth injury claims

We have helped many families obtain substantial compensation for injuries suffered at birth, giving them financial security that has truly changed their lives for the better. Contact one of our birth injury lawyers today to see how we can help, at no cost to you.

Frequently Asked Questions

If your child suffers an injury from negligent medical treatment during your pregnancy, the birth or postnatally you may be entitled to make a claim.

If you are ever unsure if you have a case, it is best to contact a solicitor.

We can provide a second opinion free of charge. We have acted for many clients who have been told they don’t have a case, but by looking at the claim in a different way and with our expertise, we have gone on to be successful

All birth injury claims are different and this depends upon when a final prognosis is known and a claim can be valued.

Once we obtain an admission of liability in your case we can request an immediate payment to help with your needs and put support in place.

Medical negligence claims rarely go to court, with only a small percentage of the more complex cases ending up there. However, in the unlikely event that your case reaches court, we will be by your side throughout the process.

It is important to pursue your claim as quickly as possible due to time limits and to also enable us to help you obtain compensation as soon as possible. This is especially the case in complex cases as the process can be lengthy.

You have to start your claim within 3-years (limitation period) from when the injury occurred or when you first became aware of any potential negligence or injury as a result. However, the time limit only begins when a child reaches 18 years of age.

There may be several options open to you to include legal aid, No Win No Fee and legal expense insurance. We can advise you on the correct funding method for you. We have designed a No Win No Fee package to protect you from paying any costs should your claim not be successful.

 

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