Louise Thompson has revealed a photo of the moment she held her son Leo for the first time.
The former Made In Chelsea star welcomed Leo into the world in November 2021, alongside her fiancé Ryan Libbey.
However, the birth left Louise fighting for her life with complications. The mum-of-one was later diagnosed with PTSD.
Now, in honour of Maternal Mental Health Week, Louise has been opening up about the traumatic experience.
Earlier today, the 34-year-old took to Instagram to post a never-before-seen photo of when she held Leo for the first time.
“My camera roll post-birth is a bit atypical. Instead of taking pictures of my baby, I seemed to be taking pictures of my battle wounds and tracking them,” Louise penned.
“Sometimes [looking back] makes me feel funny, other times it makes me feel sad, but often it simply reminds me of what is possible even during those darkest moments. The one thing it makes me do every time without fail is run upstairs to watch Leo while he sleeps,” she admitted.
“So here is the moment I met Leo for the first time. I can’t quite believe that I managed to conjure up a smile for a photo,” the reality star exclaimed.
Louise then went on to recall how her mental health suffered after Leo’s birth.
“No one warned me that I might feel funny, and there was certainly no foresight into what happened to me. I was totally blindsided and felt detached and disorientated from reality. I not only ‘lost my identity’ but I also seemed to lose my memory of everything pre-child for a large chunk of time. I had major attachment issues with my son too,” she detailed.
Louise concluded her caption by reflecting on how she is coping now.
“I’m not only doing really well, but I genuinely think I’m a better person than I was before. I have a whole new perspective on life and I genuinely think I love my son more as a result of the birth trauma and all of the horrendous mental and physical pain that I’ve overcome,” she gushed.