Risk of serious injuries in childbirth on the rise

Women in England are at growing risk of suffering a serious injury while giving birth, NHS figures reveal.

- Denis Campbell

The number of mothers sustaining a thirdor fourth-degree perineal tear while delivering their baby has risen from 25 per 1,000 in June 2020 to 29 per 1,000 in June this year - a 16% increase.

Such injuries can have a “life-changing” impact on women’s physical and mental health, cause post-traumatic stress disorder and leave them afraid to have another child. Childbirth experts linked the rise in the most serious tears to poor NHS care, understaffing in NHS maternity units, and mothers getting older and larger.

Women are also being put in danger because hospitals do not always properly establish their risk of suffering a tear using an assessment method recommended by obstetricians, midwives and MPs.

Helen Morgan, the Liberal Democrat health spokesperson, who obtained the NHS England figures from the House of Commons library, said: "Behind these figures are heartbreaking stories of women suffering unimaginable trauma at a moment that should be full of joy.