Birth injury compensation and the birthing "conveyor belt"
Britain's overstretched maternity wards have led many birthing experts to fear that, for many new mothers, the experience of birth is becoming depersonalised. While births that have the personal experienced subsumed by clinical processes may not in themselves be sufficient reason for claiming birth injury compensation, there is little doubt that they can lead to higher levels of trauma and postnatal depression.
The causes of trauma and postnatal depression are often difficult to quantify. Although in YouClaim's many years of experience in representing birth injury compensation claimants, one common denominator is often women's feeling of being part of a birthing "conveyor belt".
Within this context, new mothers feel that their interests become secondary to the clinical processes of the hospital. They might report having very limited engagement with maternity and obstetric staff, yet feel that the clinical process constrains their ability to make individual choices about the birthing process. In short, they are under the complete control of a clinical institution but feel that they lack any level of individual support from it. Rather than feeling they have gone through life's single greatest natural miracle, such women have the experience reduced to a depersonalised operative process.
This can lead to much more than a traumatic birth experience. Postnatal depression may develop if the woman has not received an adequate level of support throughout the birthing process. This can be ongoing, lasting for months or even years, as too can a damaged relationship with the baby. If the natural birth process is denied by a reductive clinical process, the mother-baby bond can suffer, leading to disengagement as well as further pain and trauma.
Some birthing experts have gone so far as to compare the experiences of women in this kind of situation to that of tortured soldiers. Sheila Kitzinger writes: "For these women birth was a kind of torture. They could not get the information they needed to make choices between alternatives, and felt that they had no control over what was done to them. They were disempowered in a very important event in their lives. They feel terribly alone. They may fear that they are going mad."
UK leading birth injury solicitors
YouClaim have a reputation for sensitivity and success founded on many years of experience representing families who have suffered as a result of negligence by obstetric and maternity staff in UK hospitals.
Win or lose, our medical negligence solicitors never charge any legal costs or fees. In addition, we never take a cut, ensuring all our successful clients 100% compensation.
If you would like to find out more about how we can be of help to you, fill out an online claim form or have an e-chat.
Alternatively, if you would like to speak directly with a legal advisor about claiming birth injury compensation, call us now on 0800 10 757 95.
