Swimming with my stoma bag

Gill Castle is on a mission to break down fear and stigma around taking to the water with a colostomy pouch….

Gill Castle is on a mission to break down fear and stigma around swimming with a stoma bag.

She proudly wears her colostomy pouch, which she needs following a traumatic childbirth – something Gill calls an “unspoken topic of conversation”.

To raise awareness of stomas and birth trauma, Gill has spent the winter months swimming in the sea off the coast of north-east England.

She told her story to BBC World Service’s Newsday.