This show is one of the most personal things I have ever written.
Having a Baby – The Sh!t They Don’t Tell You in Books is a one-woman show that begins in the world so many women will recognise — pregnancy advice, expectations, awkward moments, fear, hope, other people’s opinions, and all the things nobody quite prepares you for. Public listings for the show describe it as a comedic and brutally honest piece that takes audiences from morning sickness and hypnobirthing classes through to labour, told through witty anecdotes and graphic storytelling.
On the surface, it is funny, candid and unfiltered. It says the things that so often go unsaid. It laughs at the absurdity, the discomfort, the mess and the pressure that can come with pregnancy and motherhood. But it also carries something much deeper. The show was created following the loss of my baby daughter, Hattie, in 2022, after a traumatic birth left her severely brain damaged. After several days, the decision was made to turn off her life support, and she died at five days old.
Because of that, this is not just a show about pregnancy or birth. It is a show about love, hope, grief, womanhood, expectation, trauma, and the impossible reality of living through something no parent ever imagines will happen to them. Public coverage has described it as an emotional whirlwind and rollercoaster, and that feels true to me — because that is exactly what it is to perform and exactly what it is to survive.
I wanted to make something brutally honest, but I also wanted it to be alive. I wanted it to have humour, bite, awkwardness, discomfort and truth. I did not want to tell this story in a way that asked an audience simply to sit in sadness. I wanted to tell it in a way that reflected the chaos of real life — because even in the darkest experiences, there can still be laughter, absurdity and moments of connection.
This show is for anyone who has ever felt overwhelmed by expectation, blindsided by reality, or left carrying an experience that does not fit neatly into the versions of motherhood we are so often sold. It is also for anyone who believes theatre can hold both laughter and heartbreak in the same breath.
Written & Performed by Lou Cox
The journey to motherhood is fraught with the most painful and awkward moments for all women. This comedic and brutally honest one woman show takes the audience on an emotional and at times highly entertaining rollercoaster. From morning sickness to hypno-birthing classes to labour, you won’t find this stuff in the pregnancy books! No holds barred; get ready for a whirlwind of witty anecdotes and graphic storytelling with an ending no mother could ever imagine. This show is not for the faint hearted!
18+
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
“Funny, honest and totally heart-breaking”
“Incredible piece of writing”
“Side splitting humour and raw emotion”
“I have never laughed and cried so much in one show”
“Raw, generous and insightful”
Tour dates
Where can you catch me performing Having a Baby – The Sh!t They Don’t Tell You in Books?
Saturday 9th May – Rugby Theatre, Rugby
https://www.rugbytheatre.co.uk/show/having-a-baby-the-sht-they-dont-tell-you-in-books/
Saturday 30th May – The Wharf Theatre, Devizes
https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/the-wharf-theatre/having-a-baby-the-sh-t-they-dont-tell-you-in-books-18/2026-05-30/19:30/t-mjngjmd
Tuesday 28th July – Alma Tavern & Theatre, Bristol
https://www.tickettailor.com/events/almatheatrecompany
Monday 17th August – Saturday 22nd August – Edinburgh Festival Fringe
https://www.thespaceuk.com/shows/2026/having-a-baby-the-sh-t-they-dont-tell-you-in-books
