Since establishing the charity in 2016, ABTA’s cofounder and CEO, Amy Dawes, has spoken regularly at conferences, workshops, staff training and consumer events sharing her experience of birth-related trauma and being a voice for women and their families on a topic that is often taboo. The content for Amy’s presentations are informed by her own experiences as well as the experiences of thousands of women (and their families) who contact ABTA for support.

Health professionals have embraced ABTA’s evidence-based and inclusive approach to maternity care with maternity service providers inviting Amy to speak at professional development workshops and conferences both nationally and internationally.
ABTA is also fortunate to have a number of advocates (men and women) around Australia available to speak about their personal experience of birth-related trauma (#yourstorymatters).
Speaker bookings can be submitted via the form below.
Testimonials
“Amy Dawes presented at our State Conference in March 2018. I asked her to speak about her personal birth experience in her capacity as Founder & Director of the Australasian Birth Trauma Association. Amy’s presentation was deeply personal, moving and engaging for the whole audience. Many health professionals commented to me afterwards about how powerful and educational her message was. I would have no hesitation endorsing Amy as a speaker on the importance of informed decision-making for pregnant women.”
Sue CroftPhysiotherapist, CFA
Amy is an incredibly talented speaker and presenter. She has the rare ability to take a dense and complex topic and deliver it in a way that makes it easy to understand and engaging to listening to, while still being comprehensive in content. She is naturally personable and easily builds rapport with participants. Amy has a vast and up to date knowledge of birthing practice, birth trauma, and the physical and psychological impact on patients and their families. She tailored her presentation to a clinical audience with specific areas of interest, aligning perfectly with our aims and optimising the value of her talk in the context of our work. In the short speaking time she was given, Amy delivered a hugely informative and polished presentation which had a powerful impact on the audience. We would highly recommend Amy as a speaker and have had fantastic feedback from those who attended her talk. She is professional, credible, and easily engages the audience to deliver valuable insights and inspire ongoing enthusiasm for the topic.
Eleanor YoungProject Officer, Safer Care Victoria
“I have seen Amy Dawes present several times to a professional audience and then earlier this month, I asked Amy to present as Keynote to my event – A Day For Women By Women. Amy invites the listener to walk in her shoes. Her story is powerful and moving and highlights some very real issues that expectant mothers are facing in Australia today. A Day For Women By Women was a public audience, (as opposed to a professional) and Amy modified her message to ‘Being comfortable with uncomfortable’– the message remained powerful, but also delivered hope, and much needed information that all women should have. I highly recommend Amy to present across all audiences and bringing recognition to the amazing and much needed support to the work of ABTA.”
Michelle WrightOwner And Creator Of Women’s Health And Fitness Summit And A Day For Women By Women
Amy was an absolute delight to listen to!
Not only was her presentation interesting and informative, but as a guest speaker she was warm and engaging and very down- to-earth.
I would have no hesitation in recommending Amy to talk to other MHPN Networks on this very important subject.
Amanda Osciak Project Officer, Mental Health Professionals Network (MHPN)
“Amy Dawes delivered a very engaging presentation about her personal patient experiences. She captivated the large audience of healthcare professionals, and both her story and her challenge to the audience for change, resonated with many.”
Dr Kellie TathemObstetrician And Gynaecologist (FRANZCOG)
Amy was invited to speak upon recommendation at the Childbirth and Parenting Educators Association Inc. (CAPEA) conference in November 2018. The theme of the day was “generating connectedness through childbirth and parenting education”. Amy was truely inspiring and engaged the audience very quickly. The words she spoke of her own story were factual and elicited an emotional response from the audience. But Amy was in charge of this the whole time. She addressed the theme of the day with stories from her website. In all, Amy reached a new audience with candour and professionalism and she represented the women of birth trauma with integrity. Amy is a valuable asset to all conferences that include women’s health.
Jacqui GillianVice President CAPEA NSW
Amy Dawes is an outstanding speaker. Clear, empathic, knowledgeable, the work driven by ABTA is needed as she found herself. Too much wishful thinking surrounds childbirth as though we control over this extraordinary event is simple with a small number of variables. Wonderful progress is being made to reduce trauma through physical care. But awareness of the possibilities is to be maternal leaving behind innocent trust in the unknown.
Prof Helen E. O’Connell AODoeCoChair NCOI 2022
“Amy has such an engaging presence. She was able to strike a balance of providing the ‘real’ impact of birth trauma, whilst conveying succinctly the ways we need to work collaboratively to raise awareness, prevent and treat physical injuries sustained at birth.”
Dr Jan SmithHealthy You, UK
Amy presented at our recent Perinatal Mental Health Network meeting about the impact of Birth Trauma to a range of professionals including mental health professionals, nurses and other allied health providers. Amy presented beautifully on increasing awareness and supports related to families who have experienced Birth Trauma. Thankyou.
Carla AndersonPrincipal Clinical Psychologist
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Speaking Topics
- A Lived Experience of Birth-related Trauma – Start the conversation
- The Impact of a 3rd Degree Tear and Pelvic Floor Dysfunction on Relationships
- Collaborative Care – The Informed Choice
- Navigating postnatal care for Birth-Related Trauma
- What Women Want – How Can we Improve Birth Outcomes?
- Other topics by consultation.