"Stop Making a Fuss": Birth Trauma with Rosie Taylor

This week, Jinty and Lou sit down with Rosie Taylor, award-winning investigative journalist, broadcaster, media consultant, and host of the Mother Bodies podcast. Rosie has spent a decade reporting on women's health and family life for some of the UK's biggest publications. But what sets her apart is this: she hasn't just reported on the crisis in maternity care, she's lived it. Her own experience of birth trauma sent her on a mission to understand what is going wrong in our maternity system, and she has been reporting and campaigning on it ever since.

In this powerful and eye-opening conversation, we explore:

→ How Rosie went from personal anger to understanding this as a systemic failure.

→ Why postnatal care is described as the "Cinderella" of midwifery and why just £250 is allocated per woman postnatally vs £2,800 for antenatal care.

→ The shocking dismissal of women in crisis including one who was told "stop making a fuss, everyone has babies" while suffering massive internal bleeding.

→ The paradox of understaffed maternity wards and newly qualified midwives unable to find jobs.

→ How racially minoritised women, disabled women, and those facing economic hardship are being failed most severely.

→ Whether the 12 recommendations from the 2024 maternity inquiry are being acted upon and why nearly two thirds of maternal deaths happen postnatally.

→ How patriarchal medical systems have systematically stripped power from midwives and mothers.

→ What excellent maternity care actually looks like, and where we go from here

We also chat about our week, including a new film that's just dropped and exactly how much alcohol is being drunk in parliament. Hear us rant! We end with something beautiful to carry you through the week. 🌸

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