A mother left with longlasting pain after a traumatic birth opened up on ITV's Good Morning Britain09:38, 30 Jun 2026A mum opened up about her traumatic birth experience as she appeared on Good Morning Britain.Kajal Da Silva joined presenters Kate Garraway and Ed Balls on the ITV programme after the government announced the UK's first ever maternity and neonatal commissioner.The move was confirmed after a review concluded that there had been repeated failures and that there had been avoidable harm to women, babies and families.Introducing Kajal, host Kate told viewers it was a "terrible tale" and that six years after giving birth to her son, the mum was "suffering the physical and psychological effects". Ed added that Kajal's son had been "pronounced dead at birth before being resuscitated during a traumatic birth episode which left her needing 300 stitches"."I think what people don't realise is that you know, it ruins your whole life for the rest of your life," said Kajal. "You live with lifelong pain, you can't stand for long, you can't sit for long, you can't walk for long, you've got endless medical appointments and you're gas lit by professionals. Families don't, your family don't understand, friends don't understand, you lose friends.Article continues below"There's such a huge impact on your life that I think people kind of underestimate and NHS professionals underestimate."She went on: "You go to appointments and you're like, 'I'm feeling this way' or 'I feel like this is happening for me' and like, 'No, you know, are you sure you're not imagining it? Are you sure that's happening?'"Opening up about the birth, Kajal explained: "I knew like the labour wasn't progressing, then I was then told that he'd pooed inside my tummy, he'd then swallowed it, which then is quite serious."His heart rate was then increasing and I kept asking to be checked, like, 'Can I be checked, can I be checked' and they said they'll check me in three hours and then I begged to be checked. It was Covid times too so there wasn't a lot of staff on the ward."I then pushed to be checked and they checked, I was actually fully dilated. And by that point his heart rate was so high that they were like, we'll give you 20 minutes to push him out."In the end, Kajal had an extended episiotomy, to help her deliver her son."When his head came out, he wasn't breathing, and at that point they told me they've got two minutes to save his life," she said.Kajal had to have a McRoberts procedure, explaining: "He was stuck, and he wasn't coming out, and they tried this procedure, and part of that procedure is someone senior kind of, really puts their whole arm inside me, and then kind of does a manoeuvre on his shoulder... and then twists his arm and toss him out, and they do that to save his life."He was born with Erb's palsy, which means that his left arm was paralysed when he was born, and he was referred to a physio.""It's affected my whole life," she went on. "I mean, I think the early days, and I look back now, I was severely depressed."Article continues belowKajal is now calling for reform of the maternity neonatal system, saying it needs "big changes". "There can't be incremental kind of improvements," she added.Good Morning Britain airs on ITV from 6am.