HEALTH
New mothers being driven to suicide, senior midwife warns
Donna Ockenden says there is a ‘shocking lack of support’ as she backs inquiry into birth trauma
The senior midwife tasked by the government and NHS to investigate serious maternity scandals has warned that new mothers are being driven to suicide and backed an MP’s review into birth trauma.
Donna Ockenden said it was “appalling” that women who should be in the “happiest times of their lives” were taking their own lives, after it was found suicide was the leading direct cause of deaths up to 12 months after giving birth.
Ockenden, who has exposed poor maternity care across the country, is preparing to give evidence to an inquiry launched by Theo Clarke, the Conservative MP for Stafford, on birth trauma.
Donna Ockenden, a senior midwife who has investigated scandals in maternity care, will give evidence to an inquiry on birth trauma
TOLGA AKMEN FOR THE SUNDAY TIMES
Clarke thought she was going to die after giving birth to her daughter Arabella last year, having suffered a third-degree tear.
