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.”
A teenage girl who was killed after getting out of a police car on the M5 in Somerset has been named.
Tamzin Hall, 17 and from Wellington, was hit by a vehicle that was travelling southbound between junction 24 for Bridgwater and junction 25 for Taunton shortly after 11pm on Monday.
She had exited a police vehicle that had stopped on the northbound side of the motorway while transporting her.
A mandatory referral was made to the Independent Office for Police Conduct, which is now carrying out its own investigation into what happened.
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Avon and Somerset Police said: “Our thoughts and sympathies go out to Tamzin’s family for their devastating loss.
“A specially-trained family liaison officer remains in contact with them to keep them updated and to provide support.
“The family have asked for privacy at this difficult time.”
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The police watchdog, the IOPC, has been asked to investigate.
In a statement, director David Ford, said: “This was a truly tragic incident and my thoughts are with Tamzin’s family and friends and everyone affected by the events of that evening.
“We are contacting her family to express our sympathies, explain our role, and set out how our investigation will progress. We will keep them fully updated as our investigation continues.”
Paramedics attended the motorway within minutes of the girl being hit but she was pronounced dead at the scene.
The motorway was closed in both directions while investigations took place. It was fully reopened shortly after 11am on Tuesday, Nationals Highways said.
A survivors group advocating for women allegedly assaulted by Mohamed al Fayed has said it is “grateful another abuser has been unmasked”, after allegations his brother Salah also participated in the abuse.
Justice for Harrods Survivors says it has “credible evidence” suggesting the sexual abuse allegedly perpetrated at Harrods and the billionaire’s properties “was not limited to Mr al Fayed himself”.
The group’s statement comes after three women told BBC News they were sexually assaulted by al Fayed’s brother, Salah.
One woman said she was raped by Mohamed al Fayed while working at Harrods.
Helen, who has waived her right to anonymity, said she then took a job working for his brother as an escape. She alleges she was drugged and sexually assaulted while working at Salah’s home on Park Lane, London.
Two other women have told the BBC they were taken to Monaco and the South of France, where Salah sexually abused them.
Mohamed al Fayed. Pic: AP
The Justice for Harrod Survivors representatives said: “We are proud to support the survivors of Salah Fayed’s abuse and are committed to achieving justice for them, no matter what it takes.”
The group added it “looks forward to the others on whom we have credible evidence – whether abusers themselves or enablers facilitating that abuse – being exposed in due course”.
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Salah was one of the three Fayed brothers who co-owned Harrods.
The business, which was sold to Qatar Holdings when Mohamed al Fayed retired in 2010, has said it “supports the bravery of these women in coming forward”.
A statement issued by the famous store on Thursday evening continued: “We encourage these survivors to come forward and make their claims to the Harrods scheme, where they can apply for compensation, as well as support from a counselling perspective and through an independent survivor advocate.
“We also hope that they are looking at every appropriate avenue to them in their pursuit of justice, whether that be Harrods, the police or the Fayed family and estate.”
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Bianca Gascoigne speaks about Al Fayed abuse
The Justice for Harrods Survivors group previously said more than 400 people had contacted them regarding accusations about Mohamed al Fayed, who died last year.
One of those alleged to have been abused is Bianca Gascoigne, the daughter of former England player Paul.
Speaking to Sky News in October, Gascoigne said she was groomed and sexually assaulted by al Fayed when she worked at Harrods as a teenager.
UK
Wes Streeting ‘crossed the line’ by opposing assisted dying in public, says Labour peer Harriet Harman
Wes Streeting “crossed the line” by opposing assisted dying in public and the argument shouldn’t “come down to resources”, a Labour peer has said.
Speaking on Sky News’ Electoral Dysfunction podcast, Baroness Harriet Harman criticised the health secretary for revealing how he is going to vote on the matter when it comes before parliament later this month.
MPs are being given a free vote, meaning they can side with their conscience and not party lines, so the government is supposed to be staying neutral.
But Mr Streeting has made clear he will vote against legalising assisted dying, citing concerns end-of-life care is not good enough for people to make an informed choice, and that some could feel pressured into the decision to save the NHS money.
He has also ordered a review into the potential costs of changing the law, warning it could come at the expense of other NHS services if implemented.
Baroness Harman said Mr Streeting has “crossed the line in two ways”.
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“He should not have said how he was going to vote, because that breaches neutrality and sends a signal,” she said.
“And secondly… he’s said the problem is that it will cost money to bring in an assisted dying measure, and therefore he will have to cut other services.
“But paradoxically, he also said it would be a slippery slope because people will be forced to bring about their own death in order to save the NHS money. Well, it can’t be doing both things.
“It can’t be both costing the NHS money and saving the NHS money.”
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Review into assisted dying costs
Baroness Harman said the argument “should not come down to resources” as it is a “huge moral issue” affecting “only a tiny number of people”.
She added that people should not mistake Mr Streeting for being “a kind of proxy for Keir Starmer”.
“The government is genuinely neutral and all of those backbenchers, they can vote whichever way they want,” she added.
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Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has previously expressed support for assisted dying, but it is not clear how he intends to vote on the issue or if he will make his decision public ahead of time.
The cabinet has varying views on the topic, with the likes of Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood siding with Mr Streeting in her opposition but Energy Secretary Ed Miliband being for it.
Energy Security and Net Zero Secretary Ed Miliband is said to support the bill. Pic: Reuters
Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood has concerns. Pic: Reuters
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The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill is being championed by Labour backbencher Kim Leadbeater, who wants to give people with six months left to live the choice to end their lives.
Under her proposals, two independent doctors must confirm a patient is eligible for assisted dying and a High Court judge must give their approval.
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Labour MP Kim Leadbeater discusses End of Life Bill
The bill will also include punishments of up to 14 years in prison for those who break the law, including coercing someone into ending their own life.
MPs will debate and vote on the legislation on 29 November, in what will be the first Commons vote on assisted dying since 2015, when the proposal was defeated.
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