Medical groups sue US health secretary over Covid-19 vaccine change
At the end of May, Kennedy announced via social media that federal authorities would no longer recommend Covid-19 vaccines for children and pregnant women, resulting in blowback from health experts.
In the lawsuit, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the American College of Physicians (ACP) and other leading medical groups are calling on the court to stop Kennedy's "unilateral, unscientific" directive and restore the Covid-19 vaccine to immunization schedules.
"It is really unconscionable to take away a parent's ability and choice to protect their children through vaccination," said Tina Tan, a pediatrician and president of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, one of the plaintiffs.
Since taking office, Kennedy -- who spent decades spreading vaccine misinformation before becoming President Donald Trump's top health official -- has worked to overhaul American vaccination policies.
In June, he fired all 17 members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) and appointed his own panelists, under the banner of "Make America Healthy Again."
Monday's complaint also highlighted the controversial new appointees to ACIP.
"We are on a dangerous path," warned Susan Kressly of the AAP, denouncing what she described as misinformation spread by Kennedy while citing the concerns of her peers and parents of patients.
"Pediatricians cannot stay silent as the system we rely on to support life-saving vaccines is chiseled away piece by piece, with Secretary Kennedy leading efforts to sow doubt and distrust in the American success story of vaccines," Kressly said.
The problem isn't limited to parents and children, as misinformation about vaccines undermines a long-standing trust between doctor and patient.
Increasingly, medical professionals are finding that adult patients are "hesitant to get their vaccines. They are not trusting the system anymore," said Jason Goldman, president of the ACP.
The issue of vaccines extends beyond Covid-19 in the US.
Johns Hopkins University released a count Monday finding the US has recorded its worst measles epidemic in more than 30 years, with 1,277 cases confirmed since the beginning of 2025, and illness recorded in 40 of 50 states.
The total US figure is the highest since 1992.
The joint complaint was filed in Massachusetts, a northeastern US state.
Federal health officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment from AFP.
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ABC News
6 hours ago
- ABC News
Millions will die by 2029 if US funding for HIV programs isn't replaced, UN warns
In just under six months, the Trump administration has implemented policy changes that critics say have undermined longstanding efforts in the global fight against HIV and AIDS. During his first day in office, US President Donald Trump ordered a 90-day pause on foreign aid. He went on to slash $US4 billion ($6 billion) the US had pledged for the global HIV response for 2025, and in July his administration closed down the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the world's largest humanitarian aid agency. This week, a new report by the United Nations AIDS agency (UNAIDS) said the withdrawal of that aid had caused a "systemic shock", and warned that if the funding wasn't replaced, it could lead to more than 4 million AIDS-related deaths and 6 million new HIV infections by 2029. The UNAIDS report said the funding losses have "already destabilised supply chains, led to the closure of health facilities, left thousands of health clinics without staff, set back prevention programs, disrupted HIV testing efforts and forced many community organisations to reduce or halt their HIV activities". It also said that it feared other major donors would scale back their support, reversing decades of progress against AIDS worldwide — and that strong multilateral cooperation was in jeopardy because of wars, geopolitical shifts and climate change. USAID — a six-decade-old humanitarian and development organisation that officially closed down at the beginning of July — was responsible for implementing the bulk of the assistance under the US president's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the world's leading HIV/AIDS initiative. Mr Trump claimed the agency was run by "radical left lunatics" and rife with "tremendous fraud". Years of US-led investment into PEPFAR has reduced the number of people killed by AIDS to the lowest levels seen in more than three decades, and provided life-saving medicines for some of the world's most vulnerable. "It feels like an intentional tactic," said Kate Rees, public health physician at the Anova Health Institute in South Africa. PEPFAR was launched in 2003 by then US president George W Bush, the biggest-ever commitment by any country focused on a single disease. UNAIDS called the program a "lifeline" for countries with high HIV rates, and said that it supported testing for 84.1 million people, treatment for 20.6 million, among other initiatives. Sub-Saharan Africa remains the epicentre of the AIDS pandemic and South Africa has almost 8 million people living with HIV, the largest number of people in the world. She said that USAID and American money was contributing 80 to 90 per cent towards the Anova Institute. "To suddenly have that huge amounts of funding slashed is a real problem." Mr Trump's cuts have restricted the availability of drugs that millions of Africans have taken to prevent infection — particularly vulnerable communities such as gay men and sex workers who take Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis, or PrEP. "Some of the services [provided by USAID] are for key populations including LGBTQIA+ and people who use and inject drugs," Dr Rees said. The number of initiations, or people who have taken at least one dose of the drug, rose in Africa from fewer than 700 in 2016 to more than 6 million by late 2024, according to PrEPWatch, a global tracker. More than 90 per cent of new initiations last year were financed by PEPFAR, using cheap generic versions of the drug. Dr Rees said that the suddenness in which they money was pulled was "the real difficulty" because there was no chance for transition planning at both a financial and client level. "There was no chance to make sure our patients had their next step or could be transitioned into other programs," she said. Sub-Saharan Africa had 390,000 AIDS-related deaths in 2023, or 62 per cent of the global total, according to UNAIDS. That death toll was down by 56 per cent from 2010, according to the World Health Organization. UN assistant secretary-general Angeli Achrekar, a UNAIDS deputy executive director who was PEPFAR's principal deputy coordinator until January 2023, said the program is under review by the Trump administration, though Secretary of State Marco Rubio issued a waiver "to continue life-saving treatment". Last month, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a twice-yearly injectable that many hope could end HIV, called Yeztugo. The drug was tested in clinical trials across South Africa. Dr Rees said there were a lot of important projects across South Africa that people had invested money, time and planning into that would have to now be scrapped. "A lot of the innovation in HIV space comes from South Africa because of course there's so many people here with HIV," Dr Rees said. The FDA approval of Yeztugo should have been a "threshold moment" for stopping the AIDS epidemic, said Peter Maybarduk of the advocacy group Public Citizen. Instead, the drug's pricing will put it out of reach of many countries that need it. "We could be ending AIDS," Mr Maybarduk said. "Instead, the US is abandoning the fight." In 1981, the New York Times reported the first cases of the disease in the US. A year later, the first case was reported in South Africa. It took then-US president Ronald Reagan four years — and 12,000 reported deaths in the US alone — to utter the words AIDS in public. The road from simple acknowledgement to a worldwide effort to end the disease has been long — and no-one wants to go back, Dr Rees said. "We we don't wanna go back." She said that a lot of the response for South Africa now was about looking forward and looking for other sources of funding. "We've kind of accepted that the US is not going to fund us, and even if they did, their values of the current administration, in terms of like the diversity, equity and inclusion and LGBTQIA+ and women's rights, doesn't align with what we have to do in our program. "So, we're looking towards more internal South African funders like philanthropies, and other countries," she said. So, how do they do that? "It's critical, difficult and challenging, but it needs to happen." ABC/AP/Reuters
News.com.au
8 hours ago
- News.com.au
‘Life-changing': Viral TikTok migraine hack that actually works
Migraines are a scourge that affect more than one billion people worldwide and because the cause isn't fully understood, treating them can be tricky, with sufferers often curling up in a dark, quiet room, waiting for the pain to pass. But one young woman has revealed the bizarre, unlikely hack that works for her — even when pain meds don't. And a neurologist told The New York Post her method actually makes sense. In a video which has had over 36 million views on TikTok, Tilly Walker (@toeatilly) lies in bed, face up, while balancing a full bottle of Evian water on her forehead. 'How I sleep, as no medicine helps my migraines, but balancing a water bottle on my head stops the pain,' she explained. She said figuring it out has been 'life-changing knowledge.' While this basic balancing act may seem like too simple a solution, experts say there's science to support it. 'There is a long history of using pressure on the forehead to relieve pain, from placing stones on the body to tying a handkerchief tight on the head,' Noah Rosen, MD, a neurologist and director of the Northwell Headache Center, told The Post. 'Some of the benefits from this may be Diffuse Noxious Inhibitory Control where a strong stimulus may suppress another one, like rubbing around a paper cut. 'There have even been devices like the Nerivio patch, which try to use a stimulus on the arm to reduce headaches.' For Tilly, the pressure is key — she noted that the bottle has to be full for it to work. And commenters have pointed out how absolutely desperate she must have been when she stumbled upon the trick. 'This is the sort of thing that only a person with a migraine could think of trying,' wrote one. But she's not alone — several commenters have admitted to using the water bottle method as well. 'GIRL!!! I thought I was the only one doing it, it works so well,' one said. Rosen noted that the bottle may also function as a mindfulness tool, offering further relief. 'Focusing on the bottle rather than the pain may help to be in the moment rather than focusing on a discomforting abstraction,' he explained. Other commenters have chimed in to share their own weird recommendations for alleviating a severe headache, including consuming raw mimosa flowers, wearing an eye mask, applying potato slices to the forehead, submerging feet in hot water, and getting a daith or inner ear piercing. Other cures include the viral 'migraine meal', which consists of a large Coca-Cola and a large order of fries from McDonald's. One viral video with more than 3.8 million views shows a girl at the fast-food chain's drive-through with overlay text reading, 'Trying McDonald's chips and a Diet Coke because I've had a headache for 48 hours and TikTok said it would help.' Doctors say the caffeine in soda can operate as a nerve disrupter, a substance that affects nerve activity and blood flow to the brain. Sometimes, this disturbance works positively, but it's a roll of the dice or a draw of the straw, as caffeine consumption can also trigger migraines. In addition, the salt and sugar present in the 'migraine meal' can constrict blood vessels and also impact blood flow to the brain. Aside from fast food, experts have seen success in using magnesium to prevent migraines. For his part, Rosen says the water bottle hack is a generally safe choice for migraine sufferers so long as they take precautions. 'I would say if you do it, be careful and don't let it hurt your eyes, nose or spill on you!'
The Advertiser
10 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Birth trauma preventable yet affects too many women
Australian women who give birth are experiencing "obscene" rates of trauma as advocates call for universal continuity of care, midwifery leadership, antenatal education and respectful healthcare practices. But experts say trauma can be prevented and is not a given when it comes to birth. Giving birth is one of the most profound and life-changing events in a woman's life and should be predominantly positive. Yet one in three women will experience birth trauma, either physically or emotionally, affecting their lives for years to come. Birth Trauma Awareness Week is held each year to highlight the issue and provide support to women and their families who have experienced it. It is also an opportunity to examine maternity care and ensure better outcomes for women and their babies. Jess Pigram suffered from a life-threatening postpartum haemorrhage after giving birth to her daughter Shiloh in 2019. She had to undergo two surgeries shortly after her birth and ended up losing 3.6 litres of blood - more than 60 per cent of her body's total amount - which resulted in her needing multiple transfusions. "I'd just had my baby and all of a sudden there's all these people and I'm being rushed into the operation room ... there was a point where I thought I was going to die," she tells AAP. While the physical recovery has been complicated by permanent pelvic floor damage, the mental trauma from the experience has also stuck with Ms Pigram for years. It is often most acute around the time of her daughter's birthday which can be difficult to navigate. "When you go through trauma, you never forget it," she says. "I'll never be the same person I was, but that's okay because I have my daughter." Ms Pigram said her wife Katie, who was also mistreated by hospital staff during Shiloh's birth, has been instrumental in her recovery. Connecting with Birth Trauma Australia, the peak national charity dedicated to supporting women, people, fathers, partners and families after birth-related trauma, was also hugely important. But looking back, Ms Pigram wishes she'd known how many women experience trauma during birth. "It was so isolating at the time and I felt like no one understood," she says. "I wasn't aware that one in three women experience birth trauma and it took a long time to realise how many other women are affected." Rates of trauma indicate maternity services are doing something seriously wrong, former president of the Australian College of Midwives Jenny Gamble says. "It's obscene that 30 per cent of women report that they had a traumatic childbirth," she says. "The system is scaring and traumatising women about having a baby." Studies have found women who have a traumatic birth experience will subsequently choose to either birth completely outside the system, invest in a private midwife or seek a planned caesarean. Some may even decide not to have another baby after a previous traumatic experience. A landmark inquiry into birth trauma by the NSW parliament attracted international attention as well as thousands of submissions from patients, doctors, midwives and experts around Australia. The final report released in 2024 found the rates of birth trauma were unacceptable and made 43 recommendations, including an overhaul of the health system. Chief among the recommendations was the need for accessible continuity of midwifery care, which experts have been calling for for years. Hospitals that provide continuity of care, where a woman has access to the same midwife throughout her pregnancy, during the birth and postnatally, often have better outcomes for the mother, baby and care provider. It's also more cost effective. "We have this fantastic evidence that shows what needs to change but we have all these road blocks," midwife and Monash University lecturer Joy Kloester said. "Birth trauma can be prevented, it's not a given, and the best way to prevent it is continuity of care." Queensland recently appointed a chief midwifery officer, which Professor Gamble said was something all states and territories needed. "We need to stop treating having a baby like an acute medical event," she said. "It's a physiological event that requires a social and primary model of healthcare." Research shows women who consider their birth experience positive do so not because of what happened medically but because they were heard and respected throughout the process. For those who do experience trauma it's often because they felt like a body on a table. "It's not about avoiding intervention but about ensuring the woman feels like the central person in that care ... being informed and respected is so essential," Ms Kloester says. Birth trauma occurs on a spectrum, with obstetric violence at the extreme end. One in 10 women experience obstetric violence in birth, recognised by the United Nations as a form of gendered violence. Bernadette Lack is a midwife of almost 20 years and also works in pelvic health supporting women through her business Core and Floor Restore. Her practice includes birth debriefs and she says many women apologise to her for becoming emotional when they share their stories. "You carry your birth experiences with you until the day you die," Ms Lack says. "Birth isn't just about a baby being born, it's about a mother being born too. "Trauma isn't a memory, it's a reliving ... when people have experienced previous trauma, it can easily be triggered again by the smallest thing: a smell, a sound, a touch, a tone." Recovering can also be financially inaccessible to many women who may have to see multiple care providers to address mental and physical trauma. "Healing from birth can require huge investment," Ms Lack says. But she wants women to know that it's never too late to begin the process of healing. "There's often a lot of grief and people can feel scared to lean into their feelings (but) I believe the body is so capable of healing when you meet with the mind and body together," she says. Lifeline 13 11 14 beyondblue 1300 22 4636 Australian women who give birth are experiencing "obscene" rates of trauma as advocates call for universal continuity of care, midwifery leadership, antenatal education and respectful healthcare practices. But experts say trauma can be prevented and is not a given when it comes to birth. Giving birth is one of the most profound and life-changing events in a woman's life and should be predominantly positive. Yet one in three women will experience birth trauma, either physically or emotionally, affecting their lives for years to come. Birth Trauma Awareness Week is held each year to highlight the issue and provide support to women and their families who have experienced it. It is also an opportunity to examine maternity care and ensure better outcomes for women and their babies. Jess Pigram suffered from a life-threatening postpartum haemorrhage after giving birth to her daughter Shiloh in 2019. She had to undergo two surgeries shortly after her birth and ended up losing 3.6 litres of blood - more than 60 per cent of her body's total amount - which resulted in her needing multiple transfusions. "I'd just had my baby and all of a sudden there's all these people and I'm being rushed into the operation room ... there was a point where I thought I was going to die," she tells AAP. While the physical recovery has been complicated by permanent pelvic floor damage, the mental trauma from the experience has also stuck with Ms Pigram for years. It is often most acute around the time of her daughter's birthday which can be difficult to navigate. "When you go through trauma, you never forget it," she says. "I'll never be the same person I was, but that's okay because I have my daughter." Ms Pigram said her wife Katie, who was also mistreated by hospital staff during Shiloh's birth, has been instrumental in her recovery. Connecting with Birth Trauma Australia, the peak national charity dedicated to supporting women, people, fathers, partners and families after birth-related trauma, was also hugely important. But looking back, Ms Pigram wishes she'd known how many women experience trauma during birth. "It was so isolating at the time and I felt like no one understood," she says. "I wasn't aware that one in three women experience birth trauma and it took a long time to realise how many other women are affected." Rates of trauma indicate maternity services are doing something seriously wrong, former president of the Australian College of Midwives Jenny Gamble says. "It's obscene that 30 per cent of women report that they had a traumatic childbirth," she says. "The system is scaring and traumatising women about having a baby." Studies have found women who have a traumatic birth experience will subsequently choose to either birth completely outside the system, invest in a private midwife or seek a planned caesarean. Some may even decide not to have another baby after a previous traumatic experience. A landmark inquiry into birth trauma by the NSW parliament attracted international attention as well as thousands of submissions from patients, doctors, midwives and experts around Australia. The final report released in 2024 found the rates of birth trauma were unacceptable and made 43 recommendations, including an overhaul of the health system. Chief among the recommendations was the need for accessible continuity of midwifery care, which experts have been calling for for years. Hospitals that provide continuity of care, where a woman has access to the same midwife throughout her pregnancy, during the birth and postnatally, often have better outcomes for the mother, baby and care provider. It's also more cost effective. "We have this fantastic evidence that shows what needs to change but we have all these road blocks," midwife and Monash University lecturer Joy Kloester said. "Birth trauma can be prevented, it's not a given, and the best way to prevent it is continuity of care." Queensland recently appointed a chief midwifery officer, which Professor Gamble said was something all states and territories needed. "We need to stop treating having a baby like an acute medical event," she said. "It's a physiological event that requires a social and primary model of healthcare." Research shows women who consider their birth experience positive do so not because of what happened medically but because they were heard and respected throughout the process. For those who do experience trauma it's often because they felt like a body on a table. "It's not about avoiding intervention but about ensuring the woman feels like the central person in that care ... being informed and respected is so essential," Ms Kloester says. Birth trauma occurs on a spectrum, with obstetric violence at the extreme end. One in 10 women experience obstetric violence in birth, recognised by the United Nations as a form of gendered violence. Bernadette Lack is a midwife of almost 20 years and also works in pelvic health supporting women through her business Core and Floor Restore. Her practice includes birth debriefs and she says many women apologise to her for becoming emotional when they share their stories. "You carry your birth experiences with you until the day you die," Ms Lack says. "Birth isn't just about a baby being born, it's about a mother being born too. "Trauma isn't a memory, it's a reliving ... when people have experienced previous trauma, it can easily be triggered again by the smallest thing: a smell, a sound, a touch, a tone." Recovering can also be financially inaccessible to many women who may have to see multiple care providers to address mental and physical trauma. "Healing from birth can require huge investment," Ms Lack says. But she wants women to know that it's never too late to begin the process of healing. "There's often a lot of grief and people can feel scared to lean into their feelings (but) I believe the body is so capable of healing when you meet with the mind and body together," she says. Lifeline 13 11 14 beyondblue 1300 22 4636 Australian women who give birth are experiencing "obscene" rates of trauma as advocates call for universal continuity of care, midwifery leadership, antenatal education and respectful healthcare practices. But experts say trauma can be prevented and is not a given when it comes to birth. Giving birth is one of the most profound and life-changing events in a woman's life and should be predominantly positive. Yet one in three women will experience birth trauma, either physically or emotionally, affecting their lives for years to come. Birth Trauma Awareness Week is held each year to highlight the issue and provide support to women and their families who have experienced it. It is also an opportunity to examine maternity care and ensure better outcomes for women and their babies. Jess Pigram suffered from a life-threatening postpartum haemorrhage after giving birth to her daughter Shiloh in 2019. She had to undergo two surgeries shortly after her birth and ended up losing 3.6 litres of blood - more than 60 per cent of her body's total amount - which resulted in her needing multiple transfusions. "I'd just had my baby and all of a sudden there's all these people and I'm being rushed into the operation room ... there was a point where I thought I was going to die," she tells AAP. While the physical recovery has been complicated by permanent pelvic floor damage, the mental trauma from the experience has also stuck with Ms Pigram for years. It is often most acute around the time of her daughter's birthday which can be difficult to navigate. "When you go through trauma, you never forget it," she says. "I'll never be the same person I was, but that's okay because I have my daughter." Ms Pigram said her wife Katie, who was also mistreated by hospital staff during Shiloh's birth, has been instrumental in her recovery. Connecting with Birth Trauma Australia, the peak national charity dedicated to supporting women, people, fathers, partners and families after birth-related trauma, was also hugely important. But looking back, Ms Pigram wishes she'd known how many women experience trauma during birth. "It was so isolating at the time and I felt like no one understood," she says. "I wasn't aware that one in three women experience birth trauma and it took a long time to realise how many other women are affected." Rates of trauma indicate maternity services are doing something seriously wrong, former president of the Australian College of Midwives Jenny Gamble says. "It's obscene that 30 per cent of women report that they had a traumatic childbirth," she says. "The system is scaring and traumatising women about having a baby." Studies have found women who have a traumatic birth experience will subsequently choose to either birth completely outside the system, invest in a private midwife or seek a planned caesarean. Some may even decide not to have another baby after a previous traumatic experience. A landmark inquiry into birth trauma by the NSW parliament attracted international attention as well as thousands of submissions from patients, doctors, midwives and experts around Australia. The final report released in 2024 found the rates of birth trauma were unacceptable and made 43 recommendations, including an overhaul of the health system. Chief among the recommendations was the need for accessible continuity of midwifery care, which experts have been calling for for years. Hospitals that provide continuity of care, where a woman has access to the same midwife throughout her pregnancy, during the birth and postnatally, often have better outcomes for the mother, baby and care provider. It's also more cost effective. "We have this fantastic evidence that shows what needs to change but we have all these road blocks," midwife and Monash University lecturer Joy Kloester said. "Birth trauma can be prevented, it's not a given, and the best way to prevent it is continuity of care." Queensland recently appointed a chief midwifery officer, which Professor Gamble said was something all states and territories needed. "We need to stop treating having a baby like an acute medical event," she said. "It's a physiological event that requires a social and primary model of healthcare." Research shows women who consider their birth experience positive do so not because of what happened medically but because they were heard and respected throughout the process. For those who do experience trauma it's often because they felt like a body on a table. "It's not about avoiding intervention but about ensuring the woman feels like the central person in that care ... being informed and respected is so essential," Ms Kloester says. Birth trauma occurs on a spectrum, with obstetric violence at the extreme end. One in 10 women experience obstetric violence in birth, recognised by the United Nations as a form of gendered violence. Bernadette Lack is a midwife of almost 20 years and also works in pelvic health supporting women through her business Core and Floor Restore. Her practice includes birth debriefs and she says many women apologise to her for becoming emotional when they share their stories. "You carry your birth experiences with you until the day you die," Ms Lack says. "Birth isn't just about a baby being born, it's about a mother being born too. "Trauma isn't a memory, it's a reliving ... when people have experienced previous trauma, it can easily be triggered again by the smallest thing: a smell, a sound, a touch, a tone." Recovering can also be financially inaccessible to many women who may have to see multiple care providers to address mental and physical trauma. "Healing from birth can require huge investment," Ms Lack says. But she wants women to know that it's never too late to begin the process of healing. "There's often a lot of grief and people can feel scared to lean into their feelings (but) I believe the body is so capable of healing when you meet with the mind and body together," she says. Lifeline 13 11 14 beyondblue 1300 22 4636 Australian women who give birth are experiencing "obscene" rates of trauma as advocates call for universal continuity of care, midwifery leadership, antenatal education and respectful healthcare practices. But experts say trauma can be prevented and is not a given when it comes to birth. Giving birth is one of the most profound and life-changing events in a woman's life and should be predominantly positive. Yet one in three women will experience birth trauma, either physically or emotionally, affecting their lives for years to come. Birth Trauma Awareness Week is held each year to highlight the issue and provide support to women and their families who have experienced it. It is also an opportunity to examine maternity care and ensure better outcomes for women and their babies. Jess Pigram suffered from a life-threatening postpartum haemorrhage after giving birth to her daughter Shiloh in 2019. She had to undergo two surgeries shortly after her birth and ended up losing 3.6 litres of blood - more than 60 per cent of her body's total amount - which resulted in her needing multiple transfusions. "I'd just had my baby and all of a sudden there's all these people and I'm being rushed into the operation room ... there was a point where I thought I was going to die," she tells AAP. While the physical recovery has been complicated by permanent pelvic floor damage, the mental trauma from the experience has also stuck with Ms Pigram for years. It is often most acute around the time of her daughter's birthday which can be difficult to navigate. "When you go through trauma, you never forget it," she says. "I'll never be the same person I was, but that's okay because I have my daughter." Ms Pigram said her wife Katie, who was also mistreated by hospital staff during Shiloh's birth, has been instrumental in her recovery. Connecting with Birth Trauma Australia, the peak national charity dedicated to supporting women, people, fathers, partners and families after birth-related trauma, was also hugely important. But looking back, Ms Pigram wishes she'd known how many women experience trauma during birth. "It was so isolating at the time and I felt like no one understood," she says. "I wasn't aware that one in three women experience birth trauma and it took a long time to realise how many other women are affected." Rates of trauma indicate maternity services are doing something seriously wrong, former president of the Australian College of Midwives Jenny Gamble says. "It's obscene that 30 per cent of women report that they had a traumatic childbirth," she says. "The system is scaring and traumatising women about having a baby." Studies have found women who have a traumatic birth experience will subsequently choose to either birth completely outside the system, invest in a private midwife or seek a planned caesarean. Some may even decide not to have another baby after a previous traumatic experience. A landmark inquiry into birth trauma by the NSW parliament attracted international attention as well as thousands of submissions from patients, doctors, midwives and experts around Australia. The final report released in 2024 found the rates of birth trauma were unacceptable and made 43 recommendations, including an overhaul of the health system. Chief among the recommendations was the need for accessible continuity of midwifery care, which experts have been calling for for years. Hospitals that provide continuity of care, where a woman has access to the same midwife throughout her pregnancy, during the birth and postnatally, often have better outcomes for the mother, baby and care provider. It's also more cost effective. "We have this fantastic evidence that shows what needs to change but we have all these road blocks," midwife and Monash University lecturer Joy Kloester said. "Birth trauma can be prevented, it's not a given, and the best way to prevent it is continuity of care." Queensland recently appointed a chief midwifery officer, which Professor Gamble said was something all states and territories needed. "We need to stop treating having a baby like an acute medical event," she said. "It's a physiological event that requires a social and primary model of healthcare." Research shows women who consider their birth experience positive do so not because of what happened medically but because they were heard and respected throughout the process. For those who do experience trauma it's often because they felt like a body on a table. "It's not about avoiding intervention but about ensuring the woman feels like the central person in that care ... being informed and respected is so essential," Ms Kloester says. Birth trauma occurs on a spectrum, with obstetric violence at the extreme end. One in 10 women experience obstetric violence in birth, recognised by the United Nations as a form of gendered violence. Bernadette Lack is a midwife of almost 20 years and also works in pelvic health supporting women through her business Core and Floor Restore. Her practice includes birth debriefs and she says many women apologise to her for becoming emotional when they share their stories. "You carry your birth experiences with you until the day you die," Ms Lack says. "Birth isn't just about a baby being born, it's about a mother being born too. "Trauma isn't a memory, it's a reliving ... when people have experienced previous trauma, it can easily be triggered again by the smallest thing: a smell, a sound, a touch, a tone." Recovering can also be financially inaccessible to many women who may have to see multiple care providers to address mental and physical trauma. "Healing from birth can require huge investment," Ms Lack says. But she wants women to know that it's never too late to begin the process of healing. "There's often a lot of grief and people can feel scared to lean into their feelings (but) I believe the body is so capable of healing when you meet with the mind and body together," she says. Lifeline 13 11 14 beyondblue 1300 22 4636
