# Perspectives on trauma-informed maternity care for those with a history of child sexual abuse

## TL;DR

This paper highlights the importance of trauma-informed maternity care for survivors of child sexual abuse and introduces an e-resource to support healthcare professionals in addressing this need.

## Contribution

The paper introduces a co-produced e-resource to address the educational gap in trauma-informed care for survivors of child sexual abuse.

## Key findings

- Care for survivors of child sexual abuse is often absent from healthcare education.
- Trauma-informed care can better meet the needs of this vulnerable population.
- An e-resource was co-produced to amplify the voices of this unheard group.

## Abstract

Failure to listen has been a recurrent issue for recent users of maternity services in the UK. The need to listen to women has been recognised in successive reports. Listening is particularly difficult when the population is unheard such as those who have experienced child sexual abuse. Despite its prevalence and lasting impact on physical and mental health, care of women who have experienced child sexual abuse is not usually part of healthcare professional or student education. This paper discusses the benefits of trauma-informed care to meet the needs of survivors of child sexual abuse. It also discusses the co-production of an e-resource on trauma-informed care for women and birthing people who have experienced child sexual abuse. The resource addresses the related educational gap for healthcare professionals and enables the powerful words of this silent, hidden population to be heard.