BU’s Dr Andrew Mayers attended Parliament to speak to MPs about his work and research as part of the Public Inquiry into Birth Trauma.

The inquiry has been set up by the Birth Trauma All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG). APPGs are informal, cross-party groups formed by MPs and Members of the House of Lords who share a common interest in a particular policy area. The inquiry aims to find out more about the experiences of women, and their partners, who have been affected by traumatic birth.

Dr Mayers was invited by co-lead for the inquiry Theo Clarke MP to present his research and expertise around the impact of birth trauma on fathers and partners.

He was invited based on his expertise in this area, which includes research which found that new fathers feel they are not getting the recognition or support needed from healthcare professionals.

Dr Mayers’ research and campaigning led to an NHS England policy change in 2019 on how fathers and partners are supported in the perinatal period. His work in this area also contributed to one of BU’s impact case studies for REF 2021.

Dr Mayers, Principal Academic in Psychology at BU, said: “We have done very well with postnatal depression, postpartum psychosis, and maternal OCD but we still don’t understand enough and don’t have anywhere near enough support for the impact of birth trauma.

“I was asked about my role in the 2019 NHS England policy change, and used the opportunity to explain to MPs about what we can learn from that experience. I said that we not only need to know what needs to change, but how that needs to be changed and by whom.”