Bianca Pfaffel

Birth Trauma Awareness Week Support

This July, I'm taking on the BIG STEP challenge.  

I am doing this in support of safer births, better healing and raising funds to support the Australasian Birth Trauma Association (ABTA).

ABTA is Australia's peak charity dedicated to helping to prevent, diagnose, and treat birth-related trauma.  ABTA listens to the voices of birthing parents and responds to the unmet needs of families across Australia.

Birth-related trauma is any trauma or injury, whether physical or psychological, sustained at any time in connection with pregnancy, labour or birth, leading to short and/ or long-term negative impacts on an individual’s health and wellbeing.  Anyone can experience birth-related trauma, including mothers, people giving birth, fathers, non-birthing parents and other people witnessing a birth or providing care in relation to pregnancy and birth, including health professionals.

Up to 43% of mother's consider their birth experience to be traumatic.  The ripple effect of birth-related trauma is far-reaching, alongside mental health challenges, it may impact bonding with baby, self-esteem, intimate relationships, relationships with friends and family, ability to exercise, decisions to have more children, maintain a social life or the ability to return to work or care for their family.

You can help make a difference. Support my BIG STEP!

This year my contribution will be in the form of reading as I just under went yet another surgery on the 7th July 2023 as I continue to recover from my birth trauma in 2017. Every little bit counts and the word needs to be spread far and wide that birth trauma can impact someone’s life forever.