Made in Chelsea star Louise Thompson has said she will never be able to have another baby after experiencing severe health complications during the birth of her son Leo. The 35-year-old reality TV personality nearly died during an emergency caesarean section, losing more than three and a half litres of blood, and later suffered a second major haemorrhage at home.
The traumatic birth triggered long-term health problems, including the need for a stoma. Thompson also developed Asherman’s Syndrome, a condition where scar tissue forms inside the uterus, leading to bowel complications and urgent surgery. She said she would “never mentally be strong enough to carry a child” again, citing post-traumatic stress.
Thompson has become an outspoken campaigner for women’s health and maternity rights. She has worked with former Conservative MP Theo Clarke to establish the Birth Trauma All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) and is lobbying the government to create a new commissioner role overseeing maternity care. She hopes a public petition will gain 100,000 signatures to trigger a parliamentary debate.
Thompson also believes many young women are being deterred from having children after hearing “horror” stories of difficult labours. She said: “Thousands of women are crying out to me about this topic. Speaking on my own personal experience, I won't be able to carry another child. So immediately that puts us in a position where we are part of that problem now.”
Her comments come amid a national investigation into maternity care in England, with Baroness Amos expected to publish findings in December. Health Secretary Wes Streeting recently told the House of Commons that deaths of women and babies during childbirth have been “normalised” in the UK, adding: “We have levels of loss and death in this country which are simply not tolerated in others.”
