'Louise nearly died three times': Sam Thompson fights back tears as he recalls his sister's traumatic birth and says he's in therapy to try and process what happened

Sam Thompson fought back tears as he recalled his sister Louise Thompson's traumatic birth and says he's in therapy to try and process what happened. 

Louise nearly died while giving birth to her son Leo in 2021 following an emergency caesarean.

After Leo's birth, Louise went on to suffer with PTSD and post-natal anxiety due to her near-death experience and has since been diagnosed with Lupus, Asherman's syndrome, suffered a second haemorrhage, and has also had a stoma bag fitted.

Sam has now opened up about 'one of the worst experiences of his entire life' as he detailed rushing to hospital and the traumatic news. 

'Louise nearly died three times, one was the giving birth, the second was she had a haemorrhage in her uterus when she was at home, that was a really scary one', he told pal Jamie Laing on his podcast Great Company.

'I was at the ITV Palooza and my mum called me and was like "you need to get to the hospital now".

'I was quite p***ed and it was 11pm and I got to Chelsea hospital and it was post Covid, hospitals were still locked down, and I managed to snuck into the hospital.

'I managed to get into the room where Ryan [Louise's partner] was and he was on the floor, that was one of the worst experiences of my entire life.' 

He continued: 'I mean Louise has to go through it, I mean f*** me I've never seen anyone as strong as she is, but that was one of the hardest times in my life by an absolute mile. 

'I remember the doctor came in, twice, and went we can't stop the bleeding and I was like, "Oh my f***ing god". 

'That was something I will never ever, ever forget that.'

Sam praised Louise for her 'bravery' as he went on to recall how his sister told him she was dying. 

'We are so lucky to still have her. That was just the birth, two or three years on she gets sepsus in her stomach and it was completely different to the birth incident. 

'I'm again in the hospital talking to her and she's like, "I'm dying" and the doctor comes in and says you have to have your colon removed else your going to die. 

'That girl turned round and said, "Get it out". The bravery of that was out of this world.'

Sam admitted he hasn't 'properly processed' the traumatic times but has started going to therapy in the hope to work through his struggles. 

'I don't think I properly process it now, if I'm honest with you because I haven't had the time really to sit down and talk. Like I go to therapy a bit, we haven't even hit that part', he said. 

The I'm A Celebrity winner also praised Louise's partner Ryan as he held everything together despite 'struggling' as well. 

Sam explained: 'He saw a lot of blood from that person he loves and he thought she was going to die and he was looking after an infant child which he has never done before so he really struggled. 

'I really did struggle actually, but that man (Ryan) I don't think he gets the credit he deserves, because he held, you know when Spiderman's holding the two trains together, he was literally holding the whole f*****g ship together.

'Don't get me wrong I was there through the whole thing, but that man, it was tough.' 

Sam concluded by revealing the 'best things about Louise', he said: 'She is the kindest most empathatic, she feels everything.

'I don't think there are many people like my sister and she will work her arse off to give other people things and not herself, she doesn't need or want anything my sister she just wants to help people.' 

It comes after Louise shared an emotional unseen clips from her traumatic birth ordeal as she called for a meeting with Health Secretary Wes Streeting to improve maternity care in the UK.

Following her own ordeal four years ago, Louise has joined forces with former Conservative MP Theo Clarke to campaign for the appointment of a maternity commissioner, after a Parliamentary enquiry led by the pair found there is 'shockingly poor quality' in maternity services across the UK.

Louise, who was diagnosed with PTSD after the difficult birth of her son Leo in 2021, shared the videos from her experience on Instagram, dedicating the post 'to those who didn't survive or lost their babies.'

The star added that she's launched a petition asking for a maternity commissioner to be appointed, and urged her followers to sign it, in the hope of getting 100,000 signatures so the topic can be debated in Parliament.

Louise has previously shared that her injuries – which include developing Asherman's Syndrome, in which scar tissue in the uterus becomes 'glued' together, worsening bowel problems and emergency surgery after a post-natal haemorrhage – means that she cannot carry another child.

And in her video, she told her followers that there needs to be 'a national maternity strategy' after speaking to other mothers who had endured similar experiences.

Captioning the post, Louise added: 'This is dedicated to all those who didn't survive and those who lost their babies.

'Thank you to the 30,000 of you who have already signed our petition.

'This number is significant because it's also the number of women who develop PTSD following childbirth every year.

'And I believe that we NEED a maternity commissioner in this country - because every woman deserves the right to a safe and dignified birth.

'It would be great to see our government enforce some of the 748 recommendations that have been made following various inquiries over the past decade.

'I have to say I'm SO RELIEVED that so many of you care about women, our birth rights, and our babies. Especially at a time when we have people like Steven Bartlett blaming women for a declining population.

'The time is now. I've been reading a brilliant book about tipping points this week and I think we are about to be the 'push' that nudges something major over the line. Please join me in that pursuit.

'This issue can't keep getting sidelined in favour of other projects. Childbirth is the inception of life. What is more important than that. We need standardised care for all.

'Next steps - We would love a conversation with our health minister Wes.'

Louise and Theo set up the Birth Trauma All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) in the summer, and went on to lead the first national inquiry into birth trauma.

In 2024, a damning report into the 'postcode lottery' of NHS maternity care ruled there is 'shockingly poor quality' in maternity services, claiming good care is 'the exception rather than the rule'.

It heard evidence from more than 1,300 women, including new mothers who'd been left to lie in blood covered sheets for hours and even berated by midwives for having soiled themselves.

One woman carrying twins who went into premature labour at 19 weeks was told by a consultant to 'stop stressing' after she lost her first baby. Another, dismissed as an 'anxious mother', later lost her baby from complications she warned about.

The report found 'poor care is all frequently tolerated as normal, and women are treated as an inconvenience'.