Mother left with life-long injuries after giving birth breaks ‘silence’ in bid to help others
When Gill Castle became pregnant with her first child in 2011, she was over the moon. She had a healthy, straightforward pregnancy, but her labour was traumatic.
“I remember saying to my mum, I have gone into hospital perfectly healthy, a working police officer, and I have come out disabled, without my job,” Gill reflects.
“All I wanted was a baby.”
Warning – this report contains graphic content including descriptions of injuries
Gill Castle endured a traumatic labour and was left disabled after giving birth to her son
Gill’s son was premature and got stuck in the birthing canal. As his heart rate dropped, medics used forceps to save his life.
But “in doing so, they unfortunately also really significantly damaged me…”, says Gill.
As a result of the complicated delivery, Gill was left with a severe tear.
“I had a hole between my rectum and my vagina. So I was pooing out of my vagina,” Gill explains.
“Ultimately seven days after the birth, I was fitted with an emergency colostomy, which is a stoma, which I still have. Subsequently, I lost my job as a police officer due to my really severe mental health problems.”
Gill has chosen to share these details because she says she is “sick of the silence” surrounding women’s health, and is among the contributors to the very first all-party parliamentary inquiry into birth trauma.
The inquiry, led by Stafford MP Theo Clarke, was set up to address the fact that around 30,000 women each year in the UK will experience birth trauma.
Birth trauma is defined as having suffered physical or emotional distress during or after delivery. It’s so severe for some that around one in 20 women also develop PTSD.
Stafford MP Theo Clarke set up the inquiry into birth trauma in parliament
It’s a subject that’s very personal to Ms Clarke, who shared her very own birth trauma story in parliament earlier in the year.
She was taken for urgent surgery after bleeding heavily from a tear.
“I actually thought it was really important to share my story,” said Ms Clarke.
“I ended up setting up a national inquiry into birth trauma in parliament because, firstly, I was really shocked to discover there hadn’t been one before,” she added.
Since sharing her story, Ms Clarke says “hundreds of mothers across the UK” wrote into her office to share their experiences, which has helped shape the issues explored in the inquiry.
“It was very clear to me there was a huge problem with disparities in access to services for those people who had either psychological or physical trauma, like myself.
“What I really hope is this inquiry will come up with practical recommendations for the prime minister, and say ‘this is what mums are telling us they need’.”
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Ms Clarke hopes that by sharing her story and hearing thousands of others, it will raise awareness of the trauma some women experience after birth.
This is a focus of MASIC, a charity which supports women who have experienced physical birthing injuries and says such injuries are sometimes missed during birth, and dismissed after.
“There is a real postcode lottery of care,” says Chloe Oliver, chief executive of MASIC.
“The waiting list might be quite long to see pelvic health and physio specialists, and all the time you are trying to look after a baby whilst having really upsetting symptoms.”
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Ms Castle is among the contributors to the inquiry into birth trauma
MASIC is currently collating data to try to establish the emotional and financial “cost of injuries” relating to birth trauma. Not just the cost to the NHS, but the personal cost to families too.
“It impacts on your family relationships, your work life, you may not be able to go back to the job you had before you were pregnant. You know, your life completely changes and you have to live with that,” says Ms Oliver.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “We are committed to making the NHS the safest place in the world to give birth, and that’s why birth trauma support is among the top priorities for the Women’s Health Strategy in 2024.
“We’re increasing investment in maternity services to £186m per year from next month, to grow the maternity workforce and improve maternity and neonatal services across England. On top of that, an extra nearly £35m was announced at the Spring Budget to improve maternity safety.”
An amber warning has been issued for snow in a part of the UK, likely to cause travel delays and “stranding some vehicles and passengers”.
The warning, which covers south west England, also warns some rural communities could become cut off and is in place until 2pm this evening.
Pic: Met Office
There is also a yellow weather warning for snow covering the southern counties of England until midnight on Wednesday.
The warning stretches from Kent to Cornwall and up to south London and the Met Office said between 2cm and 5cm of snow could accumulate fairly widely, with as much as 10cm over higher ground.
This week is expected to see the coldest nights of the year, with temperatures potentially reaching -14C on Wednesday night and -16C on Thursday night, both in the North East of England and Scotland, the Met Office said.
Weather warnings issued on Tuesday for snow and ice covering the parts of Wales, the North West of England, west and northern parts of Scotland as well as Northern Ireland will remain in place until midnight tomorrow.
The forecaster said some roads and railways are likely to be affected and there could be icy patches on untreated roads.
Pics: AP
Meanwhile the Environment Agency has said at least 300 properties have flooded across England since New Year’s Eve. It estimates more than 41,000 properties have been protected.
Heavy rainfall over the New Year caused significant river and surface water flooding across the North West of England and Yorkshire and snowmelt has brought further disruption to parts of England, particularly the Midlands, the agency said.
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Man says flooding ‘came out of nowhere’
Floods minister Emma Hardy said: “My sympathies go out to the people, businesses and communities impacted by the recent flooding across the country.
“I want to express my heartfelt thanks for the vital work that the Environment Agency and emergency services are doing to keep people safe. People must continue to follow their advice and sign up for flood warnings.”
Flood warnings
Some 100 flood warnings were in force across England on Wednesday, with people urged to remain vigilant over the coming days.
A danger-to-life warning was issued on Tuesday morning for the River Soar near Barrow upon Soar, Leicestershire, but was later removed.
People living in caravan parks in the area were urged by the Environment Agency to act, with a large-scale evacuation needed to save lives.
Firefighters have rescued dozens of people across Leicestershire since Monday, Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service said.
Hundreds of schools were closed across the UK, with road and rail links blocked, as Manchester, Bristol and Liverpool John Lennon airports suspended flights because of the conditions.
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