Every word counts: compassion saves lives

Poor communication contributes to 9 out of 10 cases of birth trauma. The Royal College of Midwives recently interviewed our CEO Laura-Rose Thorogood and our Co-founder Dr Rebecca Moore about a campaign we launched a few years ago, but one that will always remain relevant.

Are you familiar with our #EveryWordCounts campaign? This campaign reflects the essence of our work and its message is at the heart of everything we do: language and communication are key when it comes to birth trauma.

In the magazine of the Royal College of Midwives, our CEO Laura-Rose Thorogood shares: “Most of birth trauma stems from poor communication. In our ‘Every Word Counts’ campaign, we identified 100 phrases said to service users – phrases such as ‘Can you take this woman down to the holding pen?’ and ‘I’m giving you 15 minutes to push this baby out or I’ll have to cut you’. These words can be traumatic and have long-term implications, especially at a time when a woman or birthing person is at their most vulnerable.”

“It also shows us how over time, midwives may have become desensitised to the needs of service users. Systemic failures to support them in their roles such as lack of training and staff and time constraints can affect the compassionate care midwives would choose to give.”

In the magazine piece, Laura-Rose talks about other phrases that gaslit pain, or took a position of ‘We know best’ or even ‘You need to just get on with it’, and how it all compounds birth trauma.

But, the piece also highlights some examples from Laura-Rose illustrating there are some simple ways to do things differently. “We looked at alternative positive language to use, such as ‘You’re doing so well’ and ‘You’re not alone’. It helps people to feel supported and heard.”

Notes to colleagues

Our Co-founder and Consultant Clinical Psychiatrist Dr Rebecca Moore adds in the article how time constraints lead to making assumptions – and how this is apparent in the pregnancy notes.

Rebecca in the RCM piece: “How often do we see language such as ‘poor maternal effort’, ‘non-compliant with medication’ or ‘non-attender’ in the notes? These are medical indications to colleagues, but women see them and feel judged. And it effects how colleagues treat them.”

“You don’t know what they are going through – perhaps they haven’t got the money to attend or don’t understand their medication. You need to question the labels you’re giving people as it leads to negative care.”

Rebecca suggests explaining jargon and processes clearly and checking it has been understood – not by a simple ‘yes’, but by asking what the understanding of this is so you know you are both working together and what the next steps are.

She also says it’s okay to say ‘I’m sorry that came out wrong, let me rephrase that’ – people will appreciate it. “In fact, whenever I’ve spoken to families who have experienced birth trauma, many just want an acknowledgement. It’s important to be able to say that you’re really sorry this happened to them. “

“And if it’s busy, just say so! ‘It’s busy today – I’ll keep popping back to check on you and I’ve not forgotten about you, but if you need me just ask for me.’ Compassion really does save lives.”

Read the full pdf of the RCM magazine article here.