In context, that’s about the same risk an American soldier takes on when he or she signs up for a tour of duty in a foreign war. Even with modern medical advances, about one woman in 10,000 still dies in childbirth, and many more will be permanently and seriously injured.3 Women frequently emerge from pregnancy and childbirth with permanent nerve damage, lifelong pain or PTSD.
One study found that several months after enduring labour, 29 per cent of women had fractures in their pubic bones and 41 per cent had tearing and severe damage to their pelvic floor muscles.2 For human beings, pregnancy and childbirth are dangerous, risky, exhausting, terrifying and painful. Every year, in Great Britain, 10,000 people are treated for post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of giving birth, and tens of thousands more are injured in the process of delivery.