Six weeks after giving birth to her second child, Emma’s world was turned upside down. At just 29, she experienced a pelvic organ prolapse meaning her insides literally falling out—leaving her with a devastating choice: live with daily pain and loss of function, or undergo risky surgery, including the possibility of a hysterectomy.
In this raw and unflinching conversation, Emma shares what it’s like to face a condition that is both devastating and taboo—how it has changed her body, her sex life, her sense of self, and her identity as a woman. Despite the support of her loving husband, she’s been dismissed and belittled by medical professionals who treat prolapse as “just what happens” to mothers.
Emma also talks about the process of remaking her identity in the wake of this life-altering diagnosis. Together with her partner, Andre, a scientist, she co-wrote The Stitch Up: How Medical Misogyny Harms Us All—a powerful book born out of her own experience.
This episode isn’t just about prolapse—it’s about the hidden cost of motherhood, the realities of medical misogyny, and why women deserve to be heard, believed, and cared for.
Emma Szewczak is a British writer. Her first novel The Offset, co-written under the pseudonym Calder Szewczak, was published in September 2021. She read Gender Studies at the University of Cambridge.
Dr Andrzej Harris, hailing from Poland, is an Associate Professor of Pharmacology at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of St Catharine’s College. He teaches undergraduate medical and veterinary students and has a background in molecular biology research.
Buy The Stitch Up here -
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Stitch-Up-How-Medical-Misogyny-Harms/dp/1784744913/ref=sr_1_1?crid=52DMQPQMK8MV&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.aXrldV-XM-GolrWNa4k_bQ.H-i0c4V2yT0ykPU6ZCfAJygWU60jMK2leHIzbJaASjw&dib_tag=se&keywords=the+stitch+up+by+emma+szewczak&qid=1759572823&sprefix=the+stitch+up+%2Caps%2C97&sr=8-1
","author_name":"Emma Ledden"}