In this tender and deeply honest episode, host Heather is joined by Louise Fletcher — a coach who helps women become the leading lady in their own life — to share the story of her son Daniel, and everything that came after.
Louise was in her early 20s, in a relationship only a few months old, when a late-night call from her doctor sent her to hospital with a suspected kidney problem. It was there she discovered she was four weeks pregnant. Coming from a broken family, all Louise had ever wanted was a family of her own, and she loved being pregnant — until, at around 25 weeks, she noticed the movements slow and her bump stop growing. Daniel was born at 32 weeks weighing 1lb 13oz, breathing on his own, tiny and perfect. He died at six days old.
Louise speaks with remarkable openness about the details she still carries: asking for the lung-development injection on the way to theatre and being told she didn’t need it; not holding her son because she was certain he’d be coming home, and because she felt she was in the way; and navigating it all largely alone, at 22, with a fragmented relationship with her mum.
She also shares what came later — the discovery that both fallopian tubes had been damaged during her section, the years of trying with her ex-husband that never came to anything, and the kidney transplant she lovingly calls Kate the Kidney. And she describes the moment, decades on, when she went looking for the root of a lifelong lack of confidence and found it waiting there: how can I be confident when I couldn’t carry a child?
Now Louise helps other women uncover exactly those buried beliefs. Her message throughout is that loss is never only about grief — it shapes worthiness, relationships, and business, quietly, for years, until someone helps you look at it.
Key Topics Covered: - Discovering a kidney condition and a pregnancy in the same hospital admission
- Noticing reduced movements at 25 weeks, and Daniel’s birth at 32 weeks
- The injection she asked for and was told she didn’t need — and why she says speak up
- Not holding her son, and the lifelong feeling of “being in the way”
- Facing it all at 22, alone, with a fragmented relationship with her mum
- Damaged fallopian tubes discovered years later, and never conceiving again
- Kate the Kidney — her transplant, and the peace that came with it
- Tracing a lack of confidence back to not being able to carry a child
- How grief quietly shapes worthiness, relationships and self-sabotage
- Why talking helps but deeper subconscious work is what truly shifts it
- The healed, beautiful relationship she has with her mum today
“I’d tell her I was proud of her.” A moving conversation about grief, self-worth, and finding your way back to peace.
Connect with Louise: Louise Fletcher — Coach & Speaker Instagram: @iamlouisefletcher Facebook: facebook.com/louisefletchershines
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