The Birth Trauma That Turned A Politician Into A Campaigner

About this episode

Theo Clarke shares her journey from MP to campaigner for better maternity care after experiencing birth trauma.

Trigger Warning: this episode contains discussions around some difficult subjects including traumatic birth. If you think you may find this difficult to listen to, please choose another episode x 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 book Birth…

People in this episode

Host: Giovanna Fletcher

Guest: Theo Clarke

Topics covered

• birth trauma
• maternity care
• politics
• campaigning
• postnatal support

Keywords

• birth trauma
• maternity care
• politics
• postnatal support
• campaigning

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Birth Trauma Association, Maternity Commissioner, UK government

Books & works: Breaking the Taboo

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