Happy Place Louise Thompson: Maternity care is bleak! Mental and physical scars of my traumatic birth
Jan 26, 2026
Louise Thompson, author and campaigner who speaks openly about birth trauma and chronic illness. She discusses her push for a Maternity Commissioner, the lived effects of postpartum PTSD, and systemic failures in UK maternity care. Conversations cover IVF complexities, daily practices for grounding and slowing down, and how trauma reshaped her priorities and public role.
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Need For A Maternity Commissioner
- Louise Thompson argues the UK needs a dedicated Maternity Commissioner to fix systemic failures in maternity care.
- She links rising maternal harm and postcode inequality to lack of focused national leadership and accountability.
Personal Birth Trauma And PTSD Stat
- Louise describes her own traumatic birth and the long mental and physical scars she still carries.
- She cites 30,000 women a year developing PTSD after traumatic births, about five percent of births.
Inequality And Rising Maternal Harm
- Louise and Fearne highlight stark inequality in maternity outcomes tied to geography and ethnicity.
- They note maternal deaths rose ~20% over 14 years, framing it as a national scandal requiring systemic change.
