Former Made in Chelsea star Louise Thompson admitted she was 'in tears' as she delivered her petition for better maternity care to 10 Downing Street on Wednesday, July 9, 2026. The petition, which garnered over 167,000 signatures, calls for the appointment of a maternity commissioner to improve care for pregnant women.
Campaigning since 2021
Thompson, who appeared on the reality series for over a decade, began campaigning for better maternity care after her own traumatic birth experience in 2021. She required an emergency caesarean section during which she lost '12 and a half litres of blood'. The ordeal left her with PTSD, post-natal anxiety, and later diagnoses of Lupus and Asherman's syndrome. She also suffered a second haemorrhage that required a stoma bag.
Petition handed in with personal letters
Alongside the petition, Thompson delivered a black box containing personal letters from affected families. In a video shared on social media, she wrote: 'Have held it together all week, but creating this and re-watching it over and over again to remind myself that this is actually real and that this day really happened is making me cry and it's a huge release.'
She added: 'I feel like I just woke up from the biggest haze. I feel like centuries worth of trauma (other people's and my own) are pouring out of these tiny little tear ducts and I should sleep very well tonight.'
'I'm merely a mouthpiece'
Thompson described herself as 'a normal girl whose life got totally torn apart one day' and expressed gratitude to the families who shared their stories. She concluded: 'I am merely a mouthpiece for all of you out there. I think I'm still a little in shock because I've realised this isn't actually the end of the mission. It's only just the beginning. There is a lot of work to do.'
