Welcome to the Australasian Birth Trauma Association

Birth is wonderful.
But sometimes birth is frightening.
Sometimes birth is physically damaging.
Sometimes birth is nothing like you hoped or planned.
It’s hard to hear, but important to say: birth can be traumatic.

The ABTA is a national charity committed to reducing the incidence and impact of birth-related trauma whilst supporting affected women, families and health professionals.

You can get support through our Peer2Peer Chat Program or use the links below to guide you to the information you are seeking.

Get Support

Talk about your birth with people who've been there. Our group and individual peer-led support programs help women and families heal from birth trauma in a safe, supportive environment.

Peer 2 Peer Meets

P2P Meets is a peer-led & trauma-informed, 7 week program that provides women who have experienced birth-related trauma with the opportunity to understand and explore their trauma in a supported way and importantly to help them connect with a peer group and develop their own plan for moving forward.

Downloadable Guides

This series of downloadable guides provides information, guidance and support to those touched by birth trauma, and the people who support them.

Physical Birth Trauma

Understanding the types of physical injuries that can occur during birth can help you find the right health professionals to assist in your recovery, and manage risk for future births.

Psychological Birth Trauma

Do you keep reliving your birth experience, despite trying to push it from your mind? You will find general information on common symptoms and treatments for mental health conditions related to birth trauma.

Birth After Birth Trauma

This is a question that we hear often. How can I have another baby? Whether you’ve experienced psychological trauma or birth injuries or both, spending time on your mental well-being is important.

What is Birth Trauma?

The birth of a child is meant to be one of life’s happiest events. But for an alarming number of women and families, it is anything but. In fact, 1 in 3 women describe their birth experience as traumatic, while 15-20% of first-time mothers will sustain long-term physical injury from childbirth. Let's talk about it.