Dr Kim ThomasSector leader

Biography

Dr Kim Thomas is the CEO and media liaison of the Birth Trauma Association (BTA), the only charity in the UK solely dedicated to supporting women and families who have experienced traumatic birth. She has worked as a freelance journalist since 1999, specialising in healthcare, social care and education, with work appearing in publications including the Guardian and Financial Times. She served as secretariat to the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on birth trauma and authored the first parliamentary inquiry report into birth trauma, 'Listen to Mums: Ending the Postcode Lottery on Perinatal Care', published in May 2024. She has written two books on the subject: 'Birth Trauma: A Guide for You, Your Friends and Family to Coping with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Following Birth' and 'Postnatal PTSD: A Guide for Health Professionals'. Thomas is a prominent public voice arguing for systemic reform of UK maternity care, including improved pain relief access, informed consent, and consistent NHS treatment standards for women experiencing traumatic births.

References

1. 1.Who we are — Birth Trauma Association — Confirms Kim Thomas's role as CEO and media liaison, her authorship of the 2024 parliamentary inquiry report, her role as APPG secretariat, and her two books on birth trauma.
2. 2.Kim Thomas — on healthcare, social care, education, small business — Confirms her freelance journalism career since 1999 and her focus on the 2024 parliamentary birth trauma inquiry.
3. 3.Birth trauma inquiry: where are we one year on? — Birth Trauma Association — Confirms the inquiry report title 'Listen to Mums', its publication date, and Thomas's role as author and APPG secretariat.
4. 4.Press Office — Birth Trauma Association — Confirms Thomas as CEO and freelance healthcare journalist; establishes her as the BTA's press contact.
5. 5.BIRTH TRAUMA ASSOCIATION overview — Companies House

Expertise

Cited on

• Hospital discharge / bed-blocking

Stated areas of expertise

• Birth trauma and postnatal PTSD
• Maternity care reform
• Perinatal mental health
• Parliamentary and policy advocacy
• Informed consent in childbirth
• Women's health campaigning

Notable achievements

• Authored the first parliamentary inquiry report into birth trauma, 'Listen to Mums: Ending the Postcode Lottery on Perinatal Care', published 13 May 2024, drawing on 1,311 personal submissions and 92 professional submissions. Source ↗
• Served as secretariat to the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on birth trauma, supporting the first national parliamentary inquiry into the causes and scale of birth trauma in the UK. Source ↗
• Published two books on birth trauma: 'Birth Trauma' (2013) and 'Postnatal PTSD: A Guide for Health Professionals'. Source ↗

What they’ve said

• “This is an unbearably sad case of two avoidable deaths. We often hear from women who, having had a deeply traumatic first birth in hospital, are reluctant to give birth in hospital again.”

  Chief Executive of the Birth Trauma Association · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · Women must be warned of home birth risks and have access to skilled midwives, experts say ↗

• “The new data showing a steep rise in maternal deaths since 2009 is shocking, particularly given the previous government's commitment to halve the rate of maternal death by 2025.”

  chief executive of the charity the Birth Trauma Association · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · Maternal death rate in UK rose by 20% over 14 years despite Tory pledge ↗

• “PAS is a dangerous complication of pregnancy, and terrifying for the women who experience it. As a charity, we have seen too many women experience deep psychological trauma as the result of PAS, particularly if diagnosis has happened late.”

  chief executive of the Birth Trauma Association · Hospital discharge / bed-blocking · 27 Aug 2026 · Rare pregnancy complication has put UK women into ‘emergency surgery’ ↗

• “Ockenden's 'shocking' report had shown how 'when complaints were made, the trust's instinct was to cover up, rather than investigate, failings.' Such behaviour was widespread in NHS maternity care, she added. 'Sadly, we believe that Nottingham is not unique. As a charity, we hear similar stories from hospitals throughout the country.'”

Source references

1. Women must be warned of home birth risks and have access to skilled midwives, experts saytheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
2. Maternal death rate in UK rose by 20% over 14 years despite Tory pledgetheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
3. Rare pregnancy complication has put UK women into ‘emergency surgery’theguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
4. More than 500 mothers and babies died or were harmed at ‘toxic’ Nottingham NHS trust, report findstheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
5. ‘Horrific’ maternity care failings at Nottingham NHS trust prompt calls for public inquiry

Contact & links

• Websitehttps://kimthomas.co.uk/about-kim-thomas-writer-journalist-health-education/
• Staff pagehttps://www.birthtraumaassociation.org/bta-senior-leadership
• Press office emailenquiries@birthtraumaassociation.org.ukpublished here ↗

Organisational contact points only, each taken from a page the organisation publishes itself. No personal or direct contact details are held or shown.