News | Entertainment
22 Oct 2025 13:41
NZCity News
NZCity CalculatorReturn to NZCity

  • Start Page
  • Personalise
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • Finance
  • Shopping
  • Jobs
  • Horoscopes
  • Lotto Results
  • Photo Gallery
  • Site Gallery
  • TVNow
  • Dating
  • SearchNZ
  • NZSearch
  • Crime.co.nz
  • RugbyLeague
  • Make Home
  • About NZCity
  • Contact NZCity
  • Your Privacy
  • Advertising
  • Login
  • Join for Free

  •   Home > News > Entertainment

    Jodie Turner-Smith opted for a home birth because she feared she'd die in hospital

    The 'Queen & Slim' actress and her husband Joshua Jackson welcomed a baby girl into the world in April, and long before medical facilities began changing their processes due to the coronavirus pandemic, they knew they wouldn't be attending a hospital because of the statistics on "negative birth outcomes" for black women in the US


    Jodie said: "We had decided on a home birth because of concerns about negative birth outcomes for black women in America - according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the risk of pregnancy-related deaths is more than three times greater for black women then for white women, pointing, it seems to me, to systemic racism.

    "We never imagined that in the coming weeks, hospitals around the country would begin restricting who could be present in the birthing rooms, forcing mothers to deliver without the support person or people of their choice. Delivering at home ensured I had what every single woman deserves to have; full agency in determining my birth support."

    The last few months have also seen a wave of Black Lives Matters protest in the wake of George Floyd's death at the hands of police and while Jodie worries about having to discuss the subject with her daughter one day, she's hopeful change is on the horizon.

    She wrote in the new issue of Britain's Vogue magazine: "While my husband has been learning how to change diapers and I've been learning to breastfeed a newborn, the world has been reckoning with tragedy.

    "As a mother, I Feel everything more deeply and I honestly cannot bring myself to watch the video of George Floyd's death, to hear him crying out the word 'Mama as a police officer knelt on his neck until the life left his body. How do I prepare my daughter for the pain of seeing black bodies senselessly cut down? How do I help her reconcile Sandra and Breonna and Elijah and Eric and Philando and and and...

    "Sometimes I Wonder how I will explain to my daughter what it meant to be born in the year 2020.

    "The historic events, the social unrest and me - a new mother just trying to do her best.

    "I think I will tell her it was as if the world had paused for her to be born. And that, hopefully, it never quite returned to the way it was before."

    © 2025 Bang Showbiz, NZCity

     Other Entertainment News
     22 Oct: Kim Kardashian was "shocked" by the reaction to her "daring" new SKIMS thong because it was " just a fun, silly idea"
     22 Oct: Vanessa Kirby has given birth to her first child
     22 Oct: Jennifer Flavin believes that a lack of "structure" is leading celebrity children to identify as trans
     22 Oct: Tim Curry is "not scared" of death and believes he will "welcome it"
     22 Oct: Sir David Beckham credits Guy Ritchie with inspiring his love of the countryside because he is the "ultimate country gentleman"
     22 Oct: Rachel Stevens didn't "fully grieve" the end of her marriage to Alex Bourne
     22 Oct: Miranda Kerr and her husband Evan Spiegel limit the amount of screen time their children have
     Top Stories

    RUGBY RUGBY
    Squash world number three Paul Coll has stormed into the quarter-finals at the US Open in Philadelphia More...


    BUSINESS BUSINESS
    Kiwis could save more than a thousand dollars on solar panel installation - under changes to requirements More...



     Today's News

    Rugby:
    Squash world number three Paul Coll has stormed into the quarter-finals at the US Open in Philadelphia 13:37

    Entertainment:
    Kim Kardashian was "shocked" by the reaction to her "daring" new SKIMS thong because it was " just a fun, silly idea" 13:30

    Business:
    Kiwis could save more than a thousand dollars on solar panel installation - under changes to requirements 13:27

    National:
    How does a flaming piece of space junk end up on Earth? A space archaeologist explains 13:07

    Entertainment:
    Vanessa Kirby has given birth to her first child 13:00

    Law and Order:
    Our newsroom understands Police believe a sudden death in Queenstown this morning, was after a fall from a balcony 12:47

    Entertainment:
    Jennifer Flavin believes that a lack of "structure" is leading celebrity children to identify as trans 12:30

    Business:
    A financial commentator's urging the Government to stay the course on climate reporting rules - and not change them 12:07

    Entertainment:
    Tim Curry is "not scared" of death and believes he will "welcome it" 12:00

    International:
    Anthony Albanese defends Kevin Rudd after criticism from Donald Trump 11:57


     News Search






    Power Search


    © 2025 New Zealand City Ltd