Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what support his Department provides to women who have suffered from post-birth trauma.

The Department recognises the significant physical and psychological consequences of birth trauma and the devastating impact this can have on some women. We are fully committed to improving the quality and consistency of care for women throughout pregnancy, birth, and the critical months that follow, and ensuring that when a woman experiences a traumatic birth, there is a broad range of support available.

The National Health Service is in its final year of implementing the Three-Year Delivery Plan for Maternity and Neonatal Services. As part of this plan, there is a commitment to improving postnatal care for all women and babies, including those affected by birth trauma. This includes ensuring the provision of high-quality, personalised, and joined-up care throughout the postnatal period.

NHS England has published guidance, written in collaboration with the Royal College of General Practitioners, on the six-to-eight-week postnatal check-up for all women who have given birth. This provides an important opportunity for general practitioners to listen to women in a discreet, supportive environment, to provide personalised postnatal care for their physical and mental health, and to support them with family planning. This includes an explicit reference to birth trauma for the first time. Additionally, a range of specialist mental health services have been made available to women during the perinatal period, as well as physical health services like Perinatal Pelvic Health Services. As of April 2025, 25 of the 42 local systems have perinatal pelvic health services in place, and NHS England is working closely with the remaining areas who are not compliant.