Breaking the taboo with Theo Clarke

In this powerful and deeply personal episode, former UK Cabinet Minister Gillian Keegan speaks to our host Theo Clarke publicly for the first time about her experience of infertility and IVF. She reflects on the challenges of undergoing fertility treatment while building an international career, the heartbreak of unsuccessful IVF, finding purpose after infertility, and the unexpected joys of becoming a stepmother. Gillian also shares lessons from public life and why she believes women’s health must become a greater national priority.
Topics discussed on the show include: IVF; infertility; fertility treatment; balancing career and family aspirations; being a stepparent; building resilience; improving women’s health policy; fertility awareness; support for women trying to conceive; and breaking the stigma around reproductive health.
BIOGRAPHIES
Gillian Keegan has had a long career which took her from an apprenticeship in a car factory in Liverpool, the start of a successful 30 year business career, and led her to the top of the UK Government. She served as the Secretary of State for Education from 2022-2024 and held various other ministerial portfolios during her seven years in Parliament. Since leaving Parliament she has continued to invest in businesses and is a broadcaster and political commentator regularly appearing on Good Morning Britain and Sky News. She lives in Petworth with her husband Michael and has been a step-mother to two stepsons for the past 27 years.
Follow @gilliankeegan
Theo Clarke is a podcaster, author and former Member of Parliament. She chaired the first parliamentary inquiry into birth trauma in British history and won Speech of the Year at the Parliamentarian of the Year Awards. She has been included in the prestigious Top 100 Women in Westminster list three years in a row. Theo hosts the hit podcast ‘Breaking the Taboo’ which ranks in the Top 5% most listened to shows globally, and a monthly book club at ‘A Thread of One’s Own’. She has also published a bestselling memoir ‘Breaking the Taboo: why we need to talk about birth trauma‘ which was shortlisted for the Westminster Book Awards.Follow: @theoclarkemp
Resources
Fertility Network UK
https://fertilitynetworkuk.org
HFEA (Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority)https://www.hfea.gov.uk
NHS IVF Informationhttps://www.nhs.uk/conditions/ivf/
How to Fail by Elizabeth Day
This podcast is sponsored by the law firm Irwin Mitchell.
DISCLAIMER: This show is not intended to be medical advice – please seek advice from a GP or doctor.
www.theo-clarke.org.uk/podcast
Breaking The Taboo production team
Founder and Host: Theo Clarke
Producer: Natasha Feroze
Researcher: Kate Kenyon
Designer: Emily Ryder
Social Media: Bella Carter
Studio Manager: Adam Woodward
Studio: Studio 55, part of Wolfe Power Club


This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theodoraclarke.substack.com

This week our host, Theo Clarke, is joined by broadcaster, psychotherapist, author and mental health campaigner Anna Williamson to discuss postnatal depression, birth trauma, recovery and motherhood.
Topics discussed on the show include: mental health challenges during pregnancy; Anna’s experience of birth trauma, including forceps delivery and anaesthesia complications; postnatal depression, breastfeeding difficulties, masking and intrusive thoughts; self-referral to specialist perinatal mental health services; and how she approached her second pregnancy and birth differently.
BIOGRAPHY
Anna Williamson is an experienced TV, radio and podcast broadcaster, No.1 bestselling author, psychotherapist, life coach, counsellor and NLP practitioner. She is the dating expert and presenter on Celebs Go Dating (E4) and hosts The Affair Podcast, as well as co-hosting the chart-topping podcast LuAnna alongside Luisa Zissman.
Anna first found fame presenting children’s television before speaking publicly about her own experiences of generalised anxiety disorder. She subsequently trained as a therapist and has become one of the UK’s leading voices on mental health, relationships and emotional wellbeing.
She is the author of several bestselling books including Breaking Mad: The Insider’s Guide to Conquering Anxiety, Breaking Mum and Dad, How Not To Lose It: Mental Health Sorted and Where is the Love? The Honest Guide to Dating and Relationships. Anna is also a celebrity ambassador and spokesperson for Mind, The Prince’s Trust and Childline, and works closely with PANDAS and the Birth Trauma Association to raise awareness of maternal mental health and birth trauma.
RESOURCES
Birth Trauma Association
https://www.birthtraumaassociation.org/
PANDAS
https://pandasfoundation.org.uk/
This podcast is sponsored by the law firm Irwin Mitchell.
DISCLAIMER: This show is not intended to be medical advice – please seek advice from a GP or doctor.
www.theo-clarke.org.uk/podcast
Breaking The Taboo production team
Founder and host: Theo Clarke
Producer: Natasha Feroze
Researcher: Kate Kenyon
Designer: Emily Ryder
Social Media: Bella Carter
Studio Manager: Adam Woodward
Studio: Studio 55, part of Wolfe Power Club


This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theodoraclarke.substack.com

This week our host, Theo Clarke, is interviewed by Gill Castle, campaigner and founder of Chameleon Buddies, for a special Ask Me Anything episode to discuss birth trauma, recovery, campaigning, and balancing motherhood and work.
Theo shares how she recovered from the mental and physical impact of her traumatic birth, her campaign to improve maternity care, and talks about her bestselling memoir Breaking the Taboo: Why we need to talk about birth trauma.
Topics that we discuss on the show include: UK Government’s national maternity investigation led by Baroness Amos; her campaign for a Maternity Commissioner following Theo’s petition with Louise Thompson; recovery from birth trauma including therapy; advice for women recovering from severe birth injuries; writing and publishing Breaking the Taboo and the role of journalling; balancing motherhood with campaigning and work while avoiding burnout; how she manages mum guilt; why Theo decision to start the podcast ‘Breaking the Taboo’ to support other mothers; challenges around breastfeeding after traumatic birth; dealing with separation from her baby; and how she’s trying to make Parliament more family-friendly for mothers and improve maternity leave for MPs.
BIOGRAPHIES:
Gill Castle is a former police officer who suffered a missed 4th degree tear, recto-vaginal fistula and perineal abcess during the birth of her only child in 2011. This led to a permanent colostomy, and medical retirement from the police force due to extensive mental health problems resulting from the birth, including PTSD and severe anxiety. Gill has campaigned for changes to the maternity system in the UK for many years, and has featured extensively in the national media for her work. In 2022 Gill set up an international charity, Chameleon Buddies, to support women in Kenya and the UK to adjust to life with an colostomy after fistula. In 2023 Gill became the first person to swim the English Channel solo with a stoma.
Theo Clarke was the Member of Parliament for Stafford. She chaired the first parliamentary inquiry into birth trauma in British history and previously set up the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Birth Trauma in the House of Commons. She won Speech of the Year at the Parliamentarian of the Year Awards and has been included in the prestigious Top 100 Women in Westminster list three years in a row. Theo hosts the hit podcast Breaking the Taboo which ranks in the Top 5 most listened to shows in the UK for alternative health and a book club at A Thread of One’s Own. She has also published a bestselling memoir Breaking the Taboo: why we need to talk about birth trauma.
Follow: @theoclarkemp
Resources:
Stoma Chameleon: https://www.stomachameleon.com/
This podcast is sponsored by the law firm Irwin Mitchell.
DISCLAIMER: This show is not intended to be medical advice – please seek advice from a GP or doctor.
Website:https://www.theo-clarke.org.uk/podcast
Breaking The Taboo production team:
Producer: Natasha Feroze
Designer: Emily Ryder
Social Media: Bella Carter
Studio Manager: Adam Woodward


This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theodoraclarke.substack.com

This week our host and former MP, Theo Clarke, is joined by Donna Ockenden, to discuss improving maternity care and the current challenges facing UK maternity services.
Topics that we discuss on the show include: what are the issues that maternity services are currently facing; how these issues impact families and staff; “maternity is not an island” and the interaction of a number of services in providing care; other organisations and individuals that impact on service provision; good practice nationally and what needs to be done to improve services; the need for a maternity commissioner; and an update on her investigations into Nottingham and Leeds NHS care.
Biographies:
Donna Ockenden has more than 35 years’ experience within a variety of health settings both in the UK and internationally. In 2017 Donna was appointed to chair the Independent Review into Maternity Services at the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospitals NHS Trust, the final report of which was published in spring 2022. In May 2022, Donna was appointed as the Chair of the Independent review into Maternity Services at the Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, which is expected to publish in June 2026.
Theo Clarke (host) was the Member of Parliament for Stafford. She chaired the first parliamentary inquiry into birth trauma in British history and previously set up the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Birth Trauma in the House of Commons. She won Speech of the Year at the Parliamentarian of the Year Awards and has been included in the prestigious Top 100 Women in Westminster list three years in a row. Theo hosts the hit podcast Breaking the Taboo which ranks in the Top 5 most listened to shows in the UK for alternative health and a book club at A Thread of One’s Own. She has also published a bestselling memoir ‘Breaking the Taboo: why we need to talk about birth trauma’.
This podcast is sponsored by the law firm Irwin Mitchell.
DISCLAIMER: This show is not intended to be medical advice – please seek advice from a GP or doctor.
Website: www.theo-clarke.org.uk/podcast
Don’t suffer in silence! Listen in and let’s break the final taboo in women’s health #breakingthetaboo.
Breaking The Taboo production team:
Producer: Natasha Feroze
Designer: Emily Ryder
Social Media: Bella Carter
Studio Manager: Adam Woodward


This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theodoraclarke.substack.com

This week our host and founder, Theo Clarke, is joined by Jane Hanley, founder of Perinatal MH Training CIC, and Mark Williams, fathers’ mental health advocate and founder of Fathers Reaching Out, to discuss supporting parents and families with perinatal mental health and wellbeing.
They discuss on the show: different types of perinatal mental health conditions and their impact on mothers; severe mental illnesses that can impact pregnancy and birth; fathers experience of anxiety and depression and the importance of involving them in pregnancy and care; supporting fathers whose partner has a severe mental illness; the impact of perinatal mental health on relationships, including intimacy and recovery after birth; the wider effects on siblings, grandparents and society; and the importance of accessing timely support to improve outcomes for families. We also discuss their new book, which provides help for practitioners to support parents and grandparents during the perinatal period, offering advice on how to maintain good mental wellbeing.
BIOGRAPHIES
Jane Hanley is the founder of Perinatal MH Training CIC, Jane is a respected author, educator, speaker, trainer, researcher, counsellor, and innovator who specialises in perinatal mental health. She is an Executive Board member of the International Marcé Society and a Fellow of the Royal Society for Public Health.
Mark Williams is a published author and keynote speaker, fathers’ mental health advocate, founder of fathers reaching out and co-founder of International FathersMentalHealthDay.
Buy the book:
Supporting Parents and Families with Perinatal Mental Health and Wellbeing: An Introduction for Professionals (Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2025)
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Supporting-Parents-Families-Perinatal-Mental/dp/1839970375
This podcast is sponsored by the law firm Irwin Mitchell.
DISCLAIMER: This show is not intended to be medical advice – please seek advice from a GP or doctor.
Breaking The Taboo production team:
Producer: Natasha Feroze
Researchers: Max Austin and Elliott Malik
Designer: Emily Ryder
Social Media: Bella Carter
Studio Manager: Adam Woodward
Studio: Studio 55, part of Wolfe Power Club


This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit theodoraclarke.substack.com