NSW Birth Trauma Inquiry: What Midwives Need to Know

Abstract

In June 2023, the New South Wales (NSW) Upper House launched a Select Committee inquiry into birth trauma. Public submissions were sought and over a period of weeks. There were over 4,000 submissions from individuals and organisations. This was followed by four days of public hearings in Sydney, Wollongong and Wagga Wagga, where the Select Committee heard from a variety of women sharing their birth trauma stories, plus consumer activist organisations and representatives from NSW Health. In this article, I give a first-hand, reflective account including an overview of the inquiry and how it ultimately impacts midwives. This article has been independently reviewed prior to publication.