Last week an inquiry began in NSW, with tearful evidence from a woman named Naomi Bowden, who recalled the treatment she received at Wollongong Hospital after the stillbirth of her baby Bella more than a decade ago.

In her written submission, she had described how she felt when police took her baby’s body from her after being forced to identify her newborn, how the baby had been placed on her chest floppy, white and unresponsive despite what had appeared to be a textbook pregnancy, how weeks later at an appointment, staff questioned her about where her baby was, overworked nurses not having the time to read through her notes.

This is the first of thousands of submissions to the inquiry regarding a phenomena known as birth trauma, sometimes referred to as obstetric violence or obstetric rape, where women have had experiences during labour that have left them scarred physically, mentally and emotionally.

Today, the Quicky team looks at how this inquiry hopes to change things and how the truth telling will not be easy.

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CREDITS

Host: Claire Murphy

With thanks to:

Sophie Walker - Host of the Australian Birth Stories Podcast

Producer: Claire Murphy

Executive Producer: Kally Borg

Audio Producer: Jacob Round

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The Birth Trauma Inquiry: Maternity's Me Too Moment

The Quicky