News spotlight: The Guardian - Thousands of UK women have undiagnosed PTSD after childbirth each year, study finds
New research reported by The Guardian estimates that at least 15,000 women across the UK may develop childbirth-related PTSD each year without being diagnosed, with symptoms sometimes mistaken for postnatal depression. The study points to gaps in how women’s mental health is recognised and supported after birth, including reliance on a single six-to-eight-week postnatal check.
At the Health Equality Foundation, we are spotlighting this research because it illustrates a wider issue in women’s healthcare: when services are not designed around women’s specific experiences and needs, serious health problems can go unrecognised and untreated. Improving women’s health outcomes requires care that listens to women, recognises the full range of conditions affecting them, and provides appropriate support across different parts of the health system.