After a traumatic birth in which she nearly died, Louise Thompson is campaigning to improve maternity care in the UK
Once famous for her stint on Made in Chelsea, Louise Thompson is now making waves as a campaigner for women’s health. Four years ago, when giving birth to her son Leo, Thompson underwent an emergency C-section. The operation lasted three hours, during which time she lost a lot of blood, and ten days later, she suffered a major haemorrhage, which she says she only survived because she lived close to the hospital and was able to be rushed in. The experience has had lasting knock-on effects on her health, including PTSD.
Thompson is not alone in her difficult birth experience, something that reveals the true state of maternity care in the UK. Approximately 30,000 women a year develop PTSD after giving birth. Two-thirds of maternity units fail to meet safety standards. Maternal mortality rates are 20% higher from 2022-24 than across 2009-11, with almost a threefold difference in maternal mortality rates for Black women compared to white women, and women living in the most deprived areas experiencing a maternal mortality rate twice that of women in the least deprived areas. Maternity failings in England since 2019 have left the NHS with a £27bn bill.
Examples of substandard care are becoming more common, just ask your female friends who’ve had children. The FT details Laura Beth-Thompson’s experience – her complications included a failed induction, a patchy epidural, and a third-degree tear leaving her with lasting damage and PTSD. The BBC tells the story of Orlando Davis, who died aged 14 days after the staff at Worthing Hospital in Sussex failed to listen to concerns of his mother Robyn and didn’t recognise that she had developed hyponatremia during labour. The BBC has also reported extensively on poor maternity care at Furness General Hospital in Barrow-in-Furness, where a number of mothers and babies died unnecessarily between 2004 and 2013; at Shrewsbury and Telford NHS trust, where a March 2022 investigation found that more than 200 mothers and babies could have survived with better care; and at East Kent Hospitals University NHS trust, where an October 2022 investigation revealed that at least 45 babies might have survived with proper treatment.
Baroness Valerie Amos, who is leading a National Maternity and Neonatal Investigation (NMNI), has revealed in an interim report that there are issues at every stage of the maternity journey. She said in a statement that it was “clear from the meetings and conversations I have had with hundreds of women, families and staff members across the country, that maternity and neonatal services in England are failing too many women, babies, families and staff.”
Working across a number of key areas, the report details a number of issues impacting the provision of safe care, including racism and discrimination leading to a higher risk of adverse outcomes for Black and Asian women; a lack of compassion and transparency shown to families in cases of baby loss and baby harm; and staffing and capacity issues, including staff shortages, burnout amongst midwives, overstretched units, and care being delivered in old and dilapidated buildings.
The full NMNI report is due to be published in June but before then, Louise Thompson has partnered with ex-Tory MP Theo Clark to campaign for a Maternity Commissioner to help improve maternity care for mothers and babies, and restore confidence in maternity services. At the time of writing, their petition has received over 146,000 signatures.
We’re shining a light on the issues women continue to face as part of our Year of the Woman campaign. The World Economic Forum has said it could take 123 years to reach global gender parity, meaning several generations may pass without seeing true equality in their lifetimes. We firmly believe that, particularly in the current climate, a level playing field will only be achieved if these issues continue to be highlighted and challenged. Find more Year of the Woman content here.
