Reality TV star leads protest calling for improved maternity care
The former Made In Chelsea star, 35, nearly lost her life while delivering her son Leo in November 2021 and has subsequently suffered from PTSD
Louise Thompson has said she is “demanding accountability” from the Government after leading a protest calling for improved maternity care for mothers and babies.
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The former Made In Chelsea star, 35, nearly lost her life while delivering her son Leo in November 2021 and has subsequently suffered from PTSD.
Thompson took to College Green alongside Conservative MP Theo Clarke on Wednesday, campaigning for the appointment of a maternity commissioner and a national maternity strategy to be put in place.
She said: “We stood outside Parliament today because the Government’s ‘wait and see’ approach is costing lives.
“Failing maternity services are a national scandal, ruining the health of mums and babies through a lack of basic care.
“We aren’t just here to share our trauma, we are here to demand the accountability that only a commissioner can provide.”
Read more: Maternity failings branded 'unacceptable' as probe reveals decades of ignored warnings
Following the protest, Health Secretary Wes Streeting agreed to meet with Thompson and Ms Clarke to discuss the petition they started last year which has received more than 140,000 signatures, calling to improve maternity care in the UK.
Ms Clarke, who led the UK’s Birth Trauma Inquiry in 2024 alongside Independent MP Rosie Duffield, said: “Only a maternity commissioner can bring the expertise maternity services desperately need if we are to turn the tide on this national scandal and protect mums and babies in our maternity units.
“This protest was loud and clear: mums are demanding no more reports and recommendations but action to really tackle the failings we all know exist and only a maternity commissioner can address.”
Thompson has been an advocate for improving maternity care since the birth of her son, which caused her to have an emergency caesarean section because her baby’s head became wedged in her pelvis during the late stages of labour.
The NHS medical team operated for three hours to stop a haemorrhage while she was awake and not under general anaesthetic.
PTSD episodes left her screaming in bed and paralysed.
Following the birth of her son, Thompson also got a stoma bag after a total colectomy to remove her colon due to having ulcerative colitis, a chronic bowel condition which leads to parts of the gut becoming swollen, inflamed and ulcerated.
She also suffers from lupus, a chronic autoimmune condition that has left her with exhaustion and joint pain, and said she was diagnosed with hydrosalpinx – a condition where a fallopian tube becomes blocked and swells with watery fluid.
Thompson has written a book about her health struggles, Lucky, which was published in 2024.