Cambridgeshire mum took 'good few years' to realise birth trauma effect
Kym Field hopes more women can open up about their experiences
A Cambridgeshire mum who was left traumatised after giving birth said it took "a good few years" to realise the scale of what she went through.
Kym Field had a traumatic birth with her first son Alfie in 2015, who died shortly after he was born.
An inquest then found doctors had failed to act to Alfie's unusual heart rate and died due to medical negligence.
"Nobody ever spoke about birth trauma; I never considered it so it took me a good few years to realise that was a really traumatic experience," Kym said.
"You feel birth is something you should bounce back from and recover, and I was in a fortunate position that we did have professional support."
Kym is speaking to Greatest Hits Radio after we told you that around 30,000 women experience trauma before, during or after giving birth every year, with 4-5% of new mums dealing with PTSD.
She said she "can still have flashbacks" of that birth, including when she was on "gas and air.
"That was just something that I couldn't ever experience again, even the sound and feel of it."
Kym - who gave birth again after her first born - believes that the process of birth is "a really traumatic event, even if it goes really smoothly.
"I think it's important that we talk about it (birth trauma) because in my experience, it's a bit of a taboo."
In 2016, Kym and her partner Mark Field raised £10,000 for baby loss charities following their experience.
And she believes more healthcare experts - such as GPs - talking about this more often with those affected by birth trauma can make a difference.
"I think society leads us to believe that women - right through from conception to birth - it's meant to be this natural experience that's wonderful and we're floating on a cloud the whole time, and that's not the case for a lot of women," Kym added.
"I think if health professionals aren't talking about and letting women know they may be feeling traumatised and it's something valid, it's not going to open up that conversation for a lot of women and families initially," Kym added.
"Hopefully professionals can learn and think this may have been a traumatic event for this patient and direct them to appropriate services."
Find out more about Birth Trauma, including where you can get support.
Listen to the full interview here:
https://hellorayo.co.uk/podcasts/hits-radio-talks/id-2255062/