Townsville mother warns other women to be aware of ‘hidden epidemic’ of birthing injuries

It’s supposed to be one of the happiest moments in life, but for many mothers, the ‘hidden epidemic’ of birthing injuries is a trauma that’s gone unnoticed for too long.

A YOUNG mother who had one of the happiest moments of her life turned into a nightmare is urging other women to educate themselves this Birth Trauma Awareness Week.

Katelyn Shepherd suffered serious injuries while giving birth to her three-year-old son and still lives with the physical and mental scars of the ordeal.

“When I was pregnant, all I ever thought was ‘yeah, it’ll last a couple of days, but then it’ll be over and done with, nothing to worry about’,” Ms Shepherd said.

“I just think there’s not enough awareness about what could potentially happen.”

Ms Shepherd endured a lengthy labour, in total going from Thursday all the way through to late on a Sunday, but that was only the beginning of her struggle.

“I had a mindset that I wanted to go through labour unmedicated, but I wasn’t progressing, so we had an epidural and they had to monitor Charlie’s heartbeat,” Ms Shepherd said.

Townsville mum Katelyn Shepherd, with son Charlie Sorbello, 3, suffered a physical birth injury when she gave birth which had great impact on her life over the next 12 months.

“Once we started pushing, his heart rate dropped. He had to come out and come out now.”

The doctors performed a vacuum-assisted delivery, but because her son was already so close to being delivered, the incisions made were different than the usual approach, and Ms Shepherd ended up suffering severe tears that required immediate surgery.

“I was gone and out for three hours, I had to be put under general anaesthetic. I really didn’t even know what was happening because I was so exhausted. I missed everything; Charlie being weighed and having his foot stamped,” Ms Shepherd.

While she was out of immediate dangers, Ms Shepherd was immediately on the backfoot with her injuries.

“What I found really difficult was that I wasn’t told how long it would take to heal or the potential issues,” Ms Shepherd said.

“Even simple things like laughing or sneezing can cause your stitches to pop. The physio they assigned came after I’d already sneezed once and had my stitches pop. The doctors decided to let my wounds heal on their own.

“Unfortunately, the wounds got infected about five weeks post-partum and reopened. My GP was keeping an eye on them and she sent me to the emergency room with a letter saying that my wounds were breaking down and would need intervention.”

However, Ms Shepherd’s injuries weren’t addressed at the time, and things only got worse from there.

“The doctor who consulted with me in the ER literally said ‘you’re young, you’ll heal’. But it didn’t and I ended up having to go to a private gynaecologist,” Ms Shepherd said.

“It took four and half months to heal initially, then at six and half months, an internal section was found that hadn’t healed.

Townsville mum Katelyn Shepherd, with son Charlie Sorbello, 3, suffered a physical birth injury when she gave birth which had great impact on her life over the next 12 months.

“I’ve got hypertonic pelvic muscles now and it’s likely an issue I’ll have for the rest of my life. I had no idea this sort of thing could happen, let alone it could be something you deal with forever.”

Ms Shepherd said she wants more women to be aware of their options, after she only discovered information about birth trauma through Facebook groups.

“I would read people’s stories, and it was only then that I realised I wasn’t alone. This didn’t happen to anyone else in my family and I didn’t know,” Ms Shepherd said.

“People don’t want to hear about muscles ripping, and stitches getting infected. I don’t think most people realise how I was affected. I went back to Uni two weeks after post-partum, and four months after that I was back at work.”

“I would definitely recommend they look into ABTA(Australasian Birth Trauma Association), they’re really, really helpful.

“Women give birth every single day, these things do happen, there just isn’t enough information for women to advocate for themselves.”

Originally published as Townsville mother warns other women to be aware of ‘hidden epidemic’ of birthing injuries