The record number of submissions to the NSW parliamentary inquiry into birth trauma underscores that the birth of a baby, while a joyous occasion, is associated with significant physical and psychological trauma for many women, with sequelae that can be life changing.

That’s why the discussion needs to begin with a genuine acknowledgement of women’s pain and suffering in childbirth.

Before we even arrive at why, we must accept an uncomfortable truth.

For many women, the experience of their pregnancy and care during birth has traumatised them. That is what they feel. That is their reality.