The Birth Trauma That Turned A Politician Into A Campaigner

Happy Mum, Happy Baby

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Tuesday, 7 July 2026 - 1 hour 2 minutes

Former MP Theo Clarke joins Giovanna this week to share the story of how the birth of her daughter led her to become a campaigner for better maternity care.Theo talks about navigating pregnancy while working in politics, including the challenges of having no statutory maternity leave as an MP and the pressure of being on duty during a period of major political upheaval.She also opens up about her traumatic birth experience and the lack of adequate postnatal support she received afterwards, experiences that led her to launch the first UK parliamentary debate on birth trauma. Since then, she has continued campaigning alongside Louise Thompson for the introduction of an independent maternity commissioner.UPDATE: Since recording this episode, the government has announced the appointment of the UK’s first-ever Maternity and Neonatal Commissioner, as part of efforts to improve maternity and neonatal care across England. Links:Follow Theo on Substack Breaking the Taboo bookBirth Trauma AssociationMaternity Commissioner PetitionOur interview with Louise ThompsonDo you follow our new Substack yet? Join the private village behind the podcast! xx Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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