Application of trauma informed care for childbirth trauma: The clinical profile of Australian patients accessing a tertiary antenatal intervention

Background. Despite global recognition of childbirth trauma, as well as identifiable factors in pregnancy that may increase its occurrence, there is an absence of accessible and cost-effective primary (i.e., before childbirth) antenatal intervention. This study introduces an antenatal intervention, Sensitive Care Birth Plans (SCBP), currently implemented at the (blinded for peer review) Women and Newborn Health Service (WNHS) (service) in Western Australia (service location) and provides the maternal and infant characteristics of women accessing it for childbirth trauma. Methods. Data was drawn from 126 patient files ( M  = 30.34 years, 14.1–44.4 years) identified with SCBPs from January to December 2022 at WNHS (service) in a retrospective file review. Results. Most women were diagnosed with a neurotic, stress-related and somatoform disorder (85.3%). There were high prevalences of childhood and adulthood trauma (63.5% and 63.2%, respectively), childbirth trauma (64.3%) and perinatal loss (54.1%). High rates of service use for the sample, with a 79% ( p  < .001) increased likelihood of infant admission to the Special Care Nursery, and elevated antenatal admission days ( M  = 3.72, SD  = 5.27), and caesarean section delivery recorded for 44.3% of women. Conclusions. By understanding the profile of women receiving SCBPs, this study may inform a future pilot study to explore the experience of this intervention. SCBPs have the potential to provide a model for perinatal services of equitable and effective antenatal psychological intervention to enhance maternal and infant outcomes and facilitate maternity care in the context of an increasing emphasis on positive childbirth experience.