Louise Thompson Birth Story | 2025

When Louise Thompson appeared HOUR DE LA BBC WOMAN This week, she has not only shared a story – she opened a conversation that society really has trouble having.

We are Arrive there, however. I hope that my daughter – and our collective children of the ribbon box – will have better options and incredible support, as standard, in the decades to come. We are not there yet.

The test does not stop there. A second hemorrhage at home almost claimed his life. Later, she needed a stoma after a colon surgery, was diagnosed with lupus and discovered that she had Asherman’s syndrome – while sailing in a new deeply triggering relationship with her baby.

“I couldn’t watch it,” she said during the interview. “He was associated with what had happened … I couldn’t be left alone with him.”

In 2024, Louise confirmed that she had asked, in the accumulation of the birth of Leo, for a planned cesarean section. But her request was beaten – in an interview with Mother and baby She says: “If I had been allowed to have the cesarean as I wanted, and that I had not met as much resistance, and I had not been supported in the area and I had the impression that I was perhaps too chic to push and that it was an idiotic choice, then none of this would have happened.

“I think mothers know our bodies the best ourselves. To a large extent, there is an instinctive element, especially with regard to childbirth. And with regard to birth, we must really be listened to more. ”

The shame we have – and why it does not belong to us

One of the most powerful aspects of Louise Woman’s Hour’s interview is her refusal to disguise reality. The brilliant stories, the comments “at least you have a healthy baby” – she cut them decisively.

Because what happened to Louise is not uncommon – it is rarely given antenna time due and serious. And it is this silence that maintains so many women trapped, after birth, in shame, confusion or isolation.

In the United Kingdom, approximately 4 to 5% of women from childbirth develop a complete SSPT, with many other symptoms trying such as flashbacks, detachment and anxiety. And yet, until very recently, trauma at birth existed on the outskirts of our conversations in maternal health.

The recent Investigation report on trauma at birthcovered hereis defined to change this. With moving testimonies and concrete recommendations, he marks the start of an official account with the way we care – or don’t care – for the birth of women.

From Survivor to Signpost – Louise’s second act

Today, Louise is “best friends” with Leo – a relationship for which she fought, thanks to therapy, the support of the crisis and personal reconstruction. Its Instagram flow is now a fitness, family and fierce plea hybrid. It is not a question of being “back to normal” (a myth that she wants to break), but to live with a new standard. The one where vulnerability and strength coexist.

And this is what makes its story so resonant for parents of the Z generation and the millennium. We are a generation by rewrite the scripts – speak openly about mental health, draw lines around generational trauma and question disinfected versions, “go” to maternity with many of us.

Just as Florence Pugh Recently open to her fertility fears, Louise’s voice makes room for another type of story. The one where we don’t have to bounce, smile through pain or claim that we are well.

If you read this and difficulating

Know: You are not alone.

You don’t need to wait for things to be “bad enough” to ask for help. Whether it’s a friend, your general practitioner or a service such as The birth trauma associationTalking is a powerful first step.

And for anyone supporting a partner or a loved one through postnatal trauma: sit with them. Do not precipitate them towards joy. Believe that love – a real love and a human love – will come back, even if it takes its time.

As Louise said in the interview, there is still a long way to go. But by sharing her story, she moved the needle.

Resources

Put these readings, listen and support the systems on your list – for when you are in the right space:

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