Town hall to demand action on birth trauma reforms

Maternity care is set to be an election issue after the NSW Government’s “inexcusably slow” action on reforms promised two years ago, says Better Births Illawarra (BBI) president Sharon Settecase.

As part of a statewide Birth Without Trauma campaign, the group will host a community town hall with a panel and Q&A at Dapto Ribbonwood Centre on Friday, November 6. 

“We're inviting community members to come and to hear what each candidate has to say about how they're going to improve maternity services for families in our region,” Sharon said. 

Labor MPs Ryan Park and Anna Watson are expected to attend.

“That to us shows the importance,” Sharon said. “They understand that this is an issue that people are going to vote on.

“Our health minister, who's also our local member for Keira, Ryan Park, has always been supportive of what we've been asking for. 

“However, the action just hasn't matched the care.”

Shellharbour MP Anna Watson’s attendance is key, Sharon said.

“That community has been asking for birthing services at the Shellharbour Hospital for a very long time, so we think that's going to be a really hot issue.

"And that affects Wollongong families as well, because it'll take the pressure off Wollongong Hospital birthing services, where we know that they are beyond capacity.”

The event will be open to everyone, a chance to ask questions and see who’s committed to change ahead of the election on March 13 next year.

“I think it'll be a packed room, judging from how people respond to this issue.”

Six key priorities

Two years ago, the state’s first parliamentary inquiry into birth trauma was hailed as historic and a world-first. More than 4000 submissions were received, six hearings – including one in Wollongong – were held and 43 recommendations made; 42 were accepted. 

After the inquiry’s May 2024 report, which identified midwifery continuity of care as the ‘gold standard’, the NSW Government apologised and promised reform. In June last year, as part of the 2025-26 NSW budget, the government announced an $83.1 million investment in maternity care, including $44.8 million for continuity of midwifery care.

Two years after the inquiry, however, parents have delivered a Birth Without Trauma scorecard, which says only two of the recommendations have been fully implemented. One of those was appointing NSW's first chief midwife in March 2026.

But the scorecard also notes that one in three women continue to suffer birth trauma, and the impacts ripple across lifetimes and communities. So parents have once again united to fight for change and, on September 25, BBI joined a coalition – including Maternity Choices Australia and Homebirth Australia – to announce the Birth Without Trauma campaign. 

The coalition is calling for six priority reforms, including continuity of midwifery care for all and wider access to homebirth services.

Held alongside events in Sydney and Byron Bay, the North Wollongong campaign launch at JP Galvin Park was “very successful”, attracting about 25 parents and their babies, Sharon said. 

“We had 10 mirrors, and nine of those mirrors were fragmented. They were smashed to represent the nine out of 10 women or birthing people that miss out on the gold standard of care, which is continuity of midwifery care.

“We got our point across, which was we want more urgent action on the Birth Trauma Inquiry recommendations.”

“I think what the scorecard demonstrated to us was how little information is available publicly on what the progress is on these issues. We're lucky that we get to meet with the Minister [Ryan Park] every quarter and we're also involved in meetings. But nearly 4500 women made submissions, and they have a right to know what's going on.

“We think that it's pointed in the right direction. So we are moving, but it is at a snail's pace.”

Ten Years Strong

In August, BBI held a Ten Years Strong Celebration Benefit at Wollongong’s Harbourfront Restaurant to mark a decade of grassroots advocacy by women.  

“I'm thrilled at what we've achieved,” Sharon said. 

“I’m in awe of the movement. I'm in awe of the community backing us, trusting us with their stories, politicians listening, proud of our risk taking and our creativity, and fearless way that we've approached this work that people don't usually care or talk about – issues that impact mothers – and how we've organically evolved in response to what our community needs.”

Sharon is one of BBI’s co-founders, along with Giselle Coromandel, who she met in 2016 thanks to her midwife.

“I went through fragmented care. I saw different midwives every antenatal appointment, different doctors. It was really stressful.”

The more women she’s spoken to, the more Sharon has come to see birth as a justice issue. “This is about equity. This is about access to care that every person deserves.  

“I'm a first generation Australian. My parents were born overseas, English was my second language. So I know that there's extra barriers in front of women.”

“I have a background in human rights and mobilising communities, and I'm just using those skills to make sure that all birthing people have access to the best care … especially culturally, linguistically diverse women. 

“A commitment to prioritising First Nations women and birthing for them is really, really important to me, and also a key ask from Better Births Illawarra. We need to get it right for First Nations mums.”

'A postcode lottery'

In a decade of advocacy, Sharon has seen some shifts, particularly after the Birth Trauma Inquiry shone a light on systemic failures.

“Before this, women were just suffering in silence. It's quite shameful. We often heard that women didn't feel like they ‘had trauma’, but when we listed all the ways that you might have been affected, it was overwhelmingly too common for women to have felt mistreated and not listened to, and all those things.

“Locally, we have heard that women are being listened to more.”

The Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District runs a midwifery group practice (MGP), a program to ensure continuity of care through pregnancy, birth and postpartum. Sharon said the size of Wollongong Hospital’s program has almost doubled and that Shoalhaven Hospital now has an MGP, too.

“So things have changed in Wollongong, but it's a postcode lottery for women across NSW … but we think about those families in Wagga, Broken Hill, Western Sydney. What's happening there? Those sorts of gold standard care models should be available to everybody.

“We need to have systemic change.”

For more information about BBI and the November 6 town hall, visit the group's website or Facebook page.