Shakira Akabusi’s Positive Birth Story
Alexia has spent over a decade helping women move through fear of pregnancy and birth – and host hundreds of women’s birth stories on the Fear Free Childbirth podcast.
When Shakira Akabusi found out she was pregnant, she felt two things at once: completely over the moon, and completely terrified. If you’ve ever held both of those feelings in the same breath, you already understand the heart of her story.
Shakira is a pre- and postnatal fitness coach, writer and speaker – and, yes, the daughter of Olympic athlete Kriss Akabusi. She came on the Fear Free Childbirth podcast to talk about the birth of her son Rio: the fears she carried through pregnancy, the choices she made, and how she ended up with the positive, empowering experience she’d hoped for.
Here’s her story, who she is, and the answers to the questions people most often ask about her.
In this article:
Who is Shakira Akabusi?
Shakira Akabusi is a personal trainer, pre- and postnatal fitness specialist, writer and speaker. If you’re a Brit, the surname will ring a bell: her dad is the former UK athlete and Olympic medallist Kriss Akabusi, so you could say health and fitness run in her DNA.
She is the founder of Strong Like Mum, a pre- and postnatal fitness platform she built after struggling to find expert, properly qualified support for exercising during and after pregnancy. She has since written a book, The StrongLikeMum Method, and become a well-known voice on women’s health and maternal wellbeing. She lives in London with her husband, Tom Martin, and their four children.
“Over the moon – and terrified”: the fears she faced
That mix of joy and dread is one of the most common things we hear from women on the podcast, and Shakira names it honestly. Being thrilled about a pregnancy and frightened of the birth aren’t opposites – they sit side by side all the time.
In our conversation she’s open about the specific fears she carried through her pregnancy, how she sat with them, and the steps she took to work through them rather than around them. None of it was about pretending the fear wasn’t there. It was about deciding what kind of birth she wanted and giving herself the best chance of getting it.
Why she chose an epidural
One of the most useful parts of Shakira’s story – especially if you’re weighing up your own options – is that she decided from the outset that she wanted an epidural. What makes that interesting is that she also has a fear of injections, so it wasn’t a casual choice.
She talks through why she made that decision, how she made peace with the needle, and what giving birth with an epidural was actually like. A positive birth isn’t a particular type of birth – it’s one where you feel informed, supported and in control of your choices. For Shakira, that meant an epidural, and she’s clear that it was the right call for her.
Staying fit in pregnancy – and the start of Strong Like Mum
As a personal trainer, Shakira was keen to keep up her fitness through pregnancy and afterwards, adapting as her body changed. That experience – trying to stay strong and rebuild after birth, while finding very little expert guidance out there – planted the seed for Strong Like Mum, the pre- and postnatal fitness work she’s now known for.
Feeling more dread than excitement about your birth?
You’re not alone, and there are gentle, practical ways to work through it. Our free guide walks you through the first steps to feeling calmer and more prepared.
What came after the birth
Shakira’s birth itself was a positive one – but her story didn’t end at the hospital, and it’s part of why she’s so worth listening to now. In the years since, she has spoken openly about experiencing severe postnatal anxiety and postnatal OCD after becoming a mum, and about how running and the right support helped her recover.
We share that here because it matters: a positive birth and a hard postnatal period can both be true for the same woman. If that’s where you are, it doesn’t undo your birth, and it doesn’t mean you’ve failed. It means you deserve support – and there is help.
Shakira Akabusi: your questions, answered
Is Shakira Akabusi related to Kriss Akabusi?
Yes. Shakira Akabusi is the daughter of Kriss Akabusi, the British Olympic athlete and 400m hurdler. She’s a pre- and postnatal fitness coach and the founder of Strong Like Mum, and often speaks about growing up with sport at the centre of family life.
Did Shakira Akabusi give birth naturally?
Shakira chose to have an epidural for the birth of her son Rio, deciding on it from the outset despite having a fear of injections. She describes it as a positive, empowering experience – a reminder that a good birth is about feeling informed and in control, whatever type of birth you have.
Who is Shakira Akabusi’s husband?
Shakira is married to Tom Martin. The couple live in London with their four children.
How many children does Shakira Akabusi have?
Shakira has four children: her eldest son Rio, her son Ezra, and twins Asher and Aryana.
What is Strong Like Mum?
Strong Like Mum is the pre- and postnatal fitness platform Shakira founded to give mums expert, properly qualified support for exercising through pregnancy and after birth. She’s also the author of a book, The StrongLikeMum Method.
If Shakira’s story resonates
If you’re excited about your baby but frightened of the birth, you’re in good company – and that fear is workable.
A good place to start is reading other women’s positive birth stories – hearing how real women moved through fear to a birth they felt good about can shift something. When you’re ready to prepare your own, our free 9 Steps guide gives you a calm, practical starting point.
If your fear runs deeper than ordinary nerves, our partner site Fearless Birthing – founded, like Fear Free Childbirth, by Alexia Leachman – offers structured programmes to help you work through it. You can also read Alexia’s book Fearless Birthing.
About the author: Alexia Leachman is the founder and host of the Fear Free Childbirth podcast, where she has shared hundreds of women’s birth stories and conversations about reproductive fear. She developed the Head Trash Clearance Method, the approach she uses to help women clear their fear of pregnancy and birth, and has worked with women around the world and trained perinatal professionals for over a decade. She is the author of Fearless Birthing and Betrayed By Your Biology. More about Alexia ›
Fear Free Childbirth is a publication and is not a substitute for medical or mental-health care. If you’re struggling to cope or in crisis, please contact your GP, midwife, or a qualified professional.
Read next:
Alexia supports families planning pregnancy and birth. She helps them to overcome their fears and feel calm and confident about birth and pregnancy.
Alexia also trains birth professionals in the Fearless Birthing, a unique approach to birth preparation that is ideal for those who have fears around birth.
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