‘WELL MAMA, WELL baby,’ is the shared objective of modern maternity care. When I was having my children, I was preoccupied with the risk of birth injury, among other health risks.

Like most mothers, my priority was the safe delivery of my baby.

My worries were skewed by the bias that comes from meeting children and families in the course of my work who have been affected by adverse events during pregnancy or birth. But the incidence of birth injury is low, with 94 maternity-related events reported in 2023 out of 55,000 births.

Each baby born with a brain injury needs appropriate medical care and family support for the duration of their life. That is incontestable, no matter what has caused the brain injury.

Yet, incredibly, the responsibility for this care is disputed in our health system. It is contested by bringing a claim through the courts. This subjects a family to years of waiting and repeated testimony on the birth and development of their child. The delays and multiple representations also rack up legal costs.

Obstetricians pay for professional insurance to cover these claims, but due to the spiralling costs of litigation, commercial indemnifiers threatened to withdraw from the market several years ago. The State Claims Agency stepped in to provide insurance for public maternity services,........

© TheJournal