Breaking the Taboo with Theo Clarke

This week our host, Theo Clarke, is joined by paediatric neurologist Professor Sam Amin and Emma Rush, Partner at Irwin Mitchell, to discuss baby brain injury and the practical advice and support available to parents and families.
Topics discussed on the show include: causes of baby brain injury; hypoxia and HIE; cerebral palsy; seizures and epilepsy; physical, cognitive and behavioural difficulties; prognosis and developmental milestones; early intervention; the impact on parents and siblings; accessing medical and therapeutic support; what to do if you are worried about your child’s development; and improving support and data collection for families affected by brain injury.
GUESTS
Prof Sam Amin is a consultant paediatric neurologist. His qualifications include a PhD in Clinical Neurosciences at University College London, MSc in Stem Cell Therapy and Regenerative Medicine at University of Bristol, MBCHB (Primary Medical Degree), and MRCPCH (Member of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health).
He is a consultant paediatric neurologist and the head of department at University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust. He leads the national centre for CDKL5 deficiency disorder and is a scientific advisor for the TSA (Tuberous Sclerosis Association) and CDKL5UK. He chairs the South and Wales TSC network and is chair for the BPNA (British Paediatric Neurology Association) Neurocutaneous Specialist Interest Group.
He is Chair of Research and an executive member of the BPNA/UK. He is also lead for Neurodevelopmental hub of Bristol Neurosciences at the University of Bristol. He runs several national and international studies in TSC and CDKL5 Deficiency Disorder. He is also the NIHR speciality lead for Regional Research Delivery Network in the South West.
Emma Rush has worked at Irwin Mitchell since 2007, having completed her training contract with the firm. She specialises in medical negligence and represents patients who have suffered life-changing injuries. She has a particular interest in obstetric care and neonatal injuries, and has represented many children who have severe neurological injuries and require lifelong care, adapted accommodation and specialist equipment.
Emma is passionate about raising awareness of patient safety and has been interviewed by the BBC, ITV and Sky News in addition to providing commentary in various regional and national publications on this issue.
She is recognised externally for her expertise and is accredited by the Law Society, the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) as a Senior Litigator, and is a panel member of Action Against Medical Accidents (AvMA). She has previously been shortlisted in the Partner of the Year category at the Birmingham Law Society Awards. She is individually ranked in Chambers and Partners and is noted as a Leading Individual by the Legal 500.
Emma Rush – LinkedIn
Resources
Meningitis Now – support, research and awareness
Sense – support for disabled people and their families
The Brain Charity – support for people with neurological conditions
The Children’s Trust – Brain Injury Hub
About the Host
Theo Clarke is a bestselling author, podcaster and former Member of Parliament. She is the author of Breaking the Taboo: Why We Need to Talk About Birth Trauma and led the first UK parliamentary inquiry into birth trauma.
www.theo-clarke.org.uk
Instagram: @theoclarkemp
Editor: Adam Woodward
Producer: Kate Kenyon
Designer: Emily Ryder
Social media: Eleanor Flavin
This episode of Breaking the Taboo is proudly sponsored by Irwin Mitchell.


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 author, health journalist and long-term patient Penny Parkes, whose new book How to Talk So Your Doctor Will Listen draws on the lessons she has learned from navigating the healthcare system while living with rare and complex health conditions.
Penny shares practical advice on preparing for medical appointments, communicating symptoms effectively and advocating for yourself when you feel you aren’t being heard. She also discusses the gender health gap, diagnostic delays and the need for more joined-up care, alongside her own experience of Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, traumatic births, anaesthesia failure and PTSD.
Topics discussed on the show include: how to talk to your doctor; preparing for medical appointments; self-advocacy; communicating symptoms and using health data; advocating for your children; what to do when you don’t feel listened to; medical misogyny and the gender health gap; birth trauma and PTSD; and improving joined-up NHS care for complex patients.
This episode of Breaking the Taboo is sponsored by Irwin Mitchell.
About Penny Parkes
Penny Parkes is an author, health journalist and long-term patient. She lives with a growing portfolio of invisible and dynamic disabilities and incredibly rare conditions. As an author, she has topped the Audible and Kindle charts many times – How to Talk So Your Doctor Will Listen is Penny’s seventh book but the one she has waited a lifetime to write. Her dedicated account @how2talktoyourdoctor on TikTok and Instagram went viral within a few short hours and provides a community and advice hub to accompany the book.
Resources
📖 How to Talk So Your Doctor Will Listen by Penny Parkes
National Voices - Member directory for finding trusted medical charities and patient organisations
About the Host
Theo Clarke is a bestselling author, podcaster and former Member of Parliament. She is the author of Breaking the Taboo: Why We Need to Talk About Birth Trauma and led the first UK parliamentary inquiry into birth trauma.
www.theo-clarke.org.uk
Instagram: @theoclarkemp
Producer: Adam Woodward
Research: Kate Kenyon
Designer: Emily Ryder
Social media: Eleanor Flavin


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 Debra Kroll, a community midwife with 44 years’ experience, and Gill Walton, Chief Executive of the Royal College of Midwives, to discuss preparing for pregnancy and birth and the wider state of maternity care in the UK.
Debra shares practical advice on what to expect throughout pregnancy, from your first midwife appointment and scans to choosing where to give birth, writing a birth plan and packing your hospital bag. Gill discusses maternity safety, staffing pressures and continuity of care, as well as what needs to change to ensure women and families receive high-quality maternity care.
Topics include: preparing for pregnancy; midwife appointments; pregnancy blood tests and scans; choosing where to give birth; birth plans; preparing birth partners; when to seek medical help; hyperemesis gravidarum; what to pack in your hospital bag; pregnancy after birth trauma; maternity safety; midwife staffing; continuity of care; and improving maternity services.
About Debra Kroll
Debra has been a midwife for 44 years and talks about how fulfilling her career has been. She has spent the majority of this working on the community, delivering care to local women and their families during pregnancy, labour (delivering both on the birth centre and at home) and in the postpartum period.
In addition to providing direct care, Debra has also worked as a midwifery lecturer and has contributed to work at the Royal College of Midwives and the Nursing and Midwifery Council. Working in the community has been the most satisfying part of her career, being able to be with and support women and their families where they live and can access local services. She is now a ‘granny midwife’ looking after pregnant women whose mothers were under her care when they were pregnant.
About Gill Walton
Gill Walton is Chief Executive of the Royal College of Midwives (RCM), one of the world’s oldest and largest midwifery organisations, representing the majority of the UK’s midwives.
Gill is a passionate midwife, experienced midwifery leader and NHS manager. She started nursing at University College Hospital, and then undertook Midwifery training at the Princess Anne Hospital in Southampton. She has held Director of Midwifery posts at the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading, Barking, Havering and Redbridge, John Radcliffe in Oxford and more recently at Portsmouth Hospitals.
RESOURCES
Tommy’s
The Lullaby Trust
NHS Pregnancy
About the Host
Theo Clarke is a bestselling author, podcaster and former Member of Parliament. She is the author of Breaking the Taboo: Why We Need to Talk About Birth Trauma and led the first UK parliamentary inquiry into birth trauma.
www.theo-clarke.org.uk
Instagram: @theoclarkemp
Producer: Adam Woodward
Research: Kate Kenyon
Designer: Emily Ryder
Social media: Eleanor Flavin
This episode of Breaking the Taboo is proudly sponsored by Irwin Mitchell.


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 Dame Lesley Regan, England’s first Women’s Health Ambassador, to discuss the UK Government’s Women’s Health Strategy, tackling the gender health gap, and improving healthcare for women throughout every stage of life.
Topics discussed on the show include: the Women’s Health Strategy for England; tackling the gender health gap; menstrual health, period poverty and breaking taboos around women’s health; fertility, contraception and reproductive choice; healthy ageing and preventing chronic disease; lessons from the Birth Trauma Inquiry and improving maternity care; why listening to women matters; women’s health hubs and reducing waiting lists; menopause and access to HRT; breast health and screening; empowering women to advocate for themselves; and the future priorities for women’s healthcare in England.
BIOGRAPHY
Dame Lesley Regan historic appointment was the government’s first ever Women’s Health Ambassador for England to look at how to improve Women’s health and care. Dame Regan is honorary secretary of the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) and was previously president (2016 to 2019) of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG). She is also Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Imperial College London St Mary’s Hospital Campus, and remains in active clinical practice after more than 40 years experience in reproductive medicine with particular expertise in menstrual health, recurrent miscarriage and the menopause. She is a non-executive director on the board of NHS Resolution and was awarded a DBE for services to women’s health in the 2020 New Year Honours List.
RESOURCES
Women’s Health Strategy for Englandhttps://www.gov.uk/government/publications/womens-health-strategy-for-england
Wellbeing of Womenhttps://www.wellbeingofwomen.org.uk/
ABOUT THE HOST
Theo Clarke hosts the hit podcast Breaking the Taboo which ranks in the Top 5 most listened to shows in the UK for alternative health. She has also published a bestselling memoir Breaking the Taboo: Why We Need to Talk About Birth Trauma. She was the Member of Parliament for Stafford and won Speech of the Year at the Parliamentarian of the Year Awards in the UK. Theo was included in the prestigious Top 100 Women in Westminster list in 2025 and 2024.
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
Instagram: @theoclarkemp
Breaking The Taboo production team
Founder and host: Theo Clarke
Producer: Natasha Feroze
Designer: Emily Ryder
Social Media: Eleanor Flavin
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, Theo Clarke, is joined by Dr Jo Senior, Specialty Doctor in Obstetrics and Gynaecology, to discuss what it means to have a high-risk pregnancy and explain some of the most common interventions during labour and birth.
Topics that we discuss on the show include: what “high risk” means in pregnancy; when induction of labour may be recommended; what happens during induction; how induced labour differs from spontaneous labour; the benefits and risks of induction; when an instrumental or assisted birth may be recommended; the risks and benefits of assisted delivery compared with spontaneous birth; when a caesarean section may be offered; the questions mothers should ask when deciding between an assisted birth and a caesarean section; and what these interventions may mean for future pregnancies.
Biographies:
Dr Jo Senior
Dr Jo Senior is a Specialty Doctor in Obstetrics and Gynaecology with 14 years’ experience working in maternity care. She is passionate about improving antenatal education and reducing psychological birth trauma. Dr Senior is also the mother of a two-year-old son.
Resources
Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) https://www.rcog.org.uk
NHS Inducing Labour https://www.nhs.uk/pregnancy/labour-and-birth/inducing-labour/
Birth Trauma Association https://www.birthtraumaassociation.org
About the Host
Theo Clarke hosts Breaking the Taboo and A Thread of One’s Own. She is the bestselling author of Breaking the Taboo: Why We Need to Talk About Birth Trauma. Theo was formerly the Member of Parliament for Stafford, where she chaired the first parliamentary inquiry into birth trauma in British history and founded the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Birth Trauma. 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 is a high profile campaigner on improving maternity care and her petition with Louise Thompson resulted in the UK Government creating a new appointment for the first ever Maternity Commissioner.
Follow Theo: https://www.instagram.com/theoclarkemp/
This podcast is sponsored by the law firm Irwin Mitchell:
https://www.irwinmitchell.com/
DISCLAIMER: This show is not intended to be medical advice – please seek advice from a GP, midwife or obstetrician for individual medical advice.
Website:https://www.theo-clarke.org.uk/podcast
Breaking The Taboo production team:
Founder and host: Theo Clarke
Producer: Adam Woodward
Researchers: Kate Kenyon
Designer: Emily Ryder
Social Media: Bella Carter


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