Are there UK charities offering support for families affected by birth trauma?
A number of UK charities and support organisations help women, parents, partners and families after a difficult or traumatic birth. The right source of support will depend on what help you need, whether that is processing the birth itself, finding peer support, managing your mental health, coping with a physical birth injury or supporting a baby who needs ongoing care.
Birth trauma can affect different people in different ways. Some parents want a safe space to talk to others with similar experiences, while others need specialist advice about their physical or psychological health. If you are also concerned about the care you received during pregnancy, labour or birth, you may have questions about whether anything should have been done differently.
The organisations below provide different forms of advice and support for families affected by birth trauma.
Which UK charities support families after birth trauma?
Several UK charities and support groups specialise in birth trauma, perinatal mental health, birth injuries and baby loss. Depending on your circumstances, you may find support through:
| Organisation | Support available |
|---|---|
| Birth Trauma Association | Peer support for women, parents and partners affected by traumatic birth |
| Make Birth Better | Birth trauma information, resources and awareness work |
| PANDAS Foundation | Support for parents and families affected by perinatal mental illness |
| MASIC Foundation | Support for women living with serious perineal injuries after childbirth |
| Peeps | Support for families affected by hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy (HIE) |
| Sands | Bereavement support after pregnancy loss or the death of a baby |
| Tommy’s | Tommy’s provides information and support for women recovering from a difficult or traumatic birth |
Birth Trauma Association
The Birth Trauma Association is the only UK charity solely dedicated to supporting women and families who have experienced traumatic birth. It is run by people with lived experience and combines peer support with campaigning, research and work to improve parents' experiences of maternity care.
If you have experienced birth trauma, the charity offers support by phone and email, a private Facebook group for mothers and partners, and online peer-support sessions. You can ask to speak to a peer supporter with similar experiences to your own, which may help if you want to talk in a space where people understand the impact a difficult birth can have.
The organisation also works with healthcare professionals and campaigns to raise awareness of birth trauma and improve maternal care.
Make Birth Better
Make Birth Better supports people affected by birth trauma and works to improve understanding of traumatic experiences during pregnancy, childbirth and the postnatal period.
Its resources can help if you are trying to make sense of why a birth feels frightening, distressing or out of control, or if you want information that you can share with a partner or family member. The organisation also works with healthcare professionals and campaigns for more trauma-informed maternity care.
This can be particularly useful for parents who are not sure whether the way they are feeling after giving birth is connected to birth trauma, or who want to understand their own experience before deciding what support to seek next.
PANDAS Foundation
The PANDAS Foundation is a UK mental health charity supporting parents, carers and families affected by perinatal mental illness. This can include people experiencing anxiety, depression or other mental health difficulties during pregnancy or after giving birth.
Its support includes confidential WhatsApp services, free callbacks, face-to-face groups and online resources. It also provides support specifically for fathers and partners, recognising that they can experience mental health difficulties after witnessing a traumatic birth or supporting someone through a challenging pregnancy and birth.
Birth trauma can sometimes contribute to a diagnosable psychological condition such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). If you are worried about your mental health, you can also speak to your GP, midwife or health visitor about the support and treatment available to you.
MASIC Foundation
The MASIC Foundation supports women who have experienced severe perineal injuries during childbirth, including obstetric anal sphincter injuries (OASI), sometimes known as third- or fourth-degree tears.
These injuries can affect bowel function, relationships, work and day-to-day life. MASIC provides support and advice for women living with these consequences, while also working to reduce stigma, improve awareness among healthcare professionals and support research into prevention and treatment.
If you experienced a serious tear or another physical injury during labour or delivery, MASIC may provide a useful source of support alongside any medical care you receive. JMW also advises women where concerns about maternity care have led to a birth injury to the mother.
Peeps
Peeps supports parents, families and friends affected by hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy (HIE), a type of brain injury caused by a lack of oxygen and blood flow to a baby's brain around the time of birth.
The charity provides information, peer support, counselling and therapy, help with funding specialist equipment, and events that give families opportunities to meet others with similar experiences. Its resources have been created with families affected by HIE and are designed to support people at different stages of their journey.
JMW works closely with and supports Peeps, and is part of the charity's Legal Support panel. This relationship helps families who have questions about the circumstances surrounding an HIE event find appropriate birth injury legal advice as well as practical and peer support.
Sands
Sands supports parents, families and others affected by pregnancy loss or the death of a baby before, during or shortly after birth.
Its bereavement services include a free national helpline, local support groups, an online community and practical information. Support is available not only to parents, but also to grandparents, other family members and friends who have been affected by a baby's death.
If birth trauma has involved stillbirth, neonatal death or another form of baby loss, Sands provides a confidential space to talk and can help you find support that reflects what you and your family are going through.
Tommy’s
Tommy's provides information about recovering after a difficult or traumatic birth. Their guidance covers psychological and physical recovery, talking to healthcare professionals, birth debriefing services and accessing counselling or other support.
Where else can you get help after a traumatic birth?
You do not need to rely on a charity or support group alone. If you are worried about your physical or mental health after a difficult birth, speak to your GP, midwife or health visitor. They can discuss your symptoms and help you access appropriate care.
The NHS provides information about mental health support before, during and after pregnancy, including specialist perinatal mental health services where needed.
There is no single right way to recover from a traumatic birth. The most useful support will depend on what happened, how you have been affected and what feels manageable for you at the time.
What if you have concerns about the care you received?
A traumatic birth does not automatically mean that medical negligence occurred. However, there may be grounds to investigate if care provided by a midwife, obstetrician, doctor or another member of the maternity team fell below a reasonable standard and this caused or contributed to avoidable physical or psychological injury.
A specialist medical negligence solicitor can review what happened, including the care provided during pregnancy, labour and delivery. Where appropriate, they can obtain medical records and independent medical evidence to consider whether different care would have changed the outcome.
If you are concerned about the treatment you or your baby received, the birth injury solicitors at JMW can explain your options and whether the circumstances should be investigated further.
Speak to JMW about medical negligence during pregnancy or birth
If you believe medical negligence during pregnancy, labour or birth caused or contributed to an injury to you or your baby, JMW's medical negligence solicitors can listen to what happened and advise you on the next steps.
We offer a free initial consultation. Call us on 0345 872 6666 or complete our online enquiry form to request a call back.
