Louise Thompson and birth trauma, Pope Francis and women, Estranged grandparents episode artwork

EPISODE · Apr 22, 2025 · 57 MIN

Louise Thompson and birth trauma, Pope Francis and women, Estranged grandparents

from Woman's Hour · host BBC Radio 4

After suffering complications during the birth of her son, Leo, in 2021, former Made in Chelsea star Louise Thompson developed PTSD. Now, she’s been trying to break the taboo surrounding birth trauma by posting about it to her 1.5 million followers on social media. Louise was invited to Parliament to hear women addressing the Birth Trauma Inquiry last year, led by MP Theo Clarke, and wrote about her experience in her Sunday Times bestselling book, Lucky. The paperback is out now. Louise joins Clare McDonnell.Catholics around the world have been mourning the death of Pope Francis, whose death came just a day after he addressed crowds on Easter Sunday. To discuss his legacy for women's roles in the Church and wider society, Clare is joined by Joanna Moorhead, journalist and former writer with the Catholic newspaper The Tablet, Kate McElwee, Executive Director of the Women's Ordination Conference, and Sister Gemma Simmonds, theologian at the Margaret Beaufort Institute of Theology in Cambridge.It’s estimated that one in seven grandparents in the UK are estranged from their grandchildren but legally they have no automatic right to contact. 18 years ago Jane Jackson set up Bristol Grandparents Support Group when she and her husband found themselves estranged from their seven-year-old granddaughter. Jane joins Clare to discuss supporting grandparents who find themselves in a similar situation. Family lawyer Vanessa Lloyd Platt explains the current legal situation and why she believes there should be an amendment to the Children’s Act.Louise Butcher had a double mastectomy in 2022 and has been running topless ever since. She joins Clare to share her story, ahead of her next challenge, the London Marathon.

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Apr 22, 2025

Embed this episode

NOW PLAYING

Louise Thompson and birth trauma, Pope Francis and women, Estranged grandparents

0:00 57:26

No transcript for this episode yet

We transcribe on demand. Request one and we'll notify you when it's ready — usually under 10 minutes.

No similar episodes found.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is this episode of Woman's Hour?

This episode is 57 minutes long.

When was this Woman's Hour episode published?

This episode was published on April 22, 2025.

Can I download this Woman's Hour episode?

Yes. Use the download control on the episode player to save the publisher-provided media file.
URL copied to clipboard!