Fitness coach had stroke weeks after giving birth

Health and fitness coach Becki Barratt never imagined she would hear the words "you've had a stroke" at the age of 33.

But just three weeks after welcoming her second child into the world, she had suffered a stroke while breastfeeding at home.

This meant that instead of enjoying those precious first weeks with her newborn, she was navigating motherhood while living with left-sided paralysis.

Becki, who lives in Chester with her husband James, daughter Aréya and son Beauden, recalled the moment she knew something was not right.

"My hand suddenly started spasming. Holding Beau, panic swept through me, I shouted for James. I remember saying, 'something is wrong'.

"As I stood up, I knew my legs weren't strong enough to hold me.

"I could feel them giving way beneath me. I slowly collapsed to the floor while still holding Beau."

After struggling with fertility, the couple had welcomed Aréya in March 2024 before Beauden was born in April – both after IVF.

"We felt so lucky. We had our two beautiful children," she said.

But just three weeks later, everything changed. Becki recalled how James ran into the room to help when she cried out.

"I looked at him and said 'I feel like I'm having a stroke'," she said.

"It felt ridiculous even as I said it. I remember thinking, 'why would I be having a stroke?'."

Becki was rushed to Countess of Chester Hospital but, by the time she arrived, the entire left side of her body was paralysed.

"I couldn't walk. I couldn't move my left arm or leg. Everything happened so fast," she said.

While the physical impact of the stroke was devastating, the emotional impact proved even harder.

"Instead of bonding with my newborn and settling into life with two children, I was learning how to survive a stroke," said Becki.

"A part of motherhood was taken away from me. I felt lost. I felt alone.

"I felt completely useless to my children and my husband."

Becki started the long journey to recovery from sitting to standing, before taking her first steps.

"I realised very quickly that I couldn't control what had happened," she said.

"But I could control how I responded to it. This mindset became my driving force. The only way out is through."

Doctors are still investigating exactly why Becki had a stroke.

"I certainly wouldn't have imagined a healthy 33-year-old mum breastfeeding her newborn baby," she said.

"But stroke doesn't discriminate. In a single moment, my entire life changed.

"And now every small thing I can do again - every step, every cuddle, every nappy change - feels like a victory."

Becki is planning to run the London Marathon in 2027 after watching this year's race from her hospital bed.

"I want my children to grow up seeing that even when life changes in an instant, you can keep moving forwards.

"They are my reason to keep going."

Juliet Bouverie OBE, CEO at the Stroke Association, said Becki's experience was a powerful reminder that a stroke can happen to anyone, regardless of their age, fitness or lifestyle.

"While the overall risk of stroke in younger adults remains low, around one in four strokes happen in people of working age," she said.

"Pregnancy and the weeks following childbirth are also recognised as periods when the risk of stroke is higher, even though it remains uncommon, because pregnancy can increase the risk of high blood pressure and blood clots."

She said she hoped by Becki sharing her story she would help more people understand that a stroke does not discriminate.

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