12/07/2026
We have now read RANZCOG’s full birth trauma roundtable report. While there are important recommendations here, particularly around pelvic health, postnatal care and recovery, we remain deeply concerned by what is missing.
The report acknowledges that birth trauma is shaped by communication, consent, interpersonal interactions and broader system conditions. It even includes a full section identifying consent as fundamental to women’s dignity, autonomy and trust.
And yet, when we reach the recommendations, there is no specific action on informed consent at all.
No commitment to protect a woman’s right to decline care.
No action to address coercion or non-consensual treatment.
No independent complaints or advocacy pathway.
No transparent accountability when women are mistreated.
No measurable targets, timeframes or clear responsibility for implementation.
Instead, consent is reduced to “strengthen training and communication”. 🙄
That is not enough.
This report is heavily focused on identifying trauma after the fact, improving postnatal follow-up and helping women recover from physical and psychological harm. It fails to identify how to prevent harm.
We must identify and confront the systems, cultures and power imbalances that allow preventable trauma to continue. Genuine informed consent, maternal choice and a woman’s right to decline care must be front and centre in any serious strategy to prevent birth trauma.
The report repeatedly calls birth trauma a system-level issue. A system-level issue requires system-level accountability — not simply more education for women, more screening after birth and more bandaids.
Professional bodies such as RANZCOG have a significant role in shaping standards, expectations and maternity culture. We need to know what RANZCOG itself will commit to changing.
We encourage women, families, clinicians and advocates to read the full report and share their feedback on RANZCOG’s post.
What do you believe is missing? What action would genuinely prevent birth trauma, rather than only responding once the harm has already occurred?
