News | Entertainment
18 Apr 2024 12:06
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."

    © 2024 Bang Showbiz, NZCity

     Other Entertainment News
     18 Apr: Darius Rucker believes Beyonce's new album is good for country music
     18 Apr: Jessica Chastain thinks Anne Hathaway is a "beautiful person"
     18 Apr: Olivia Culpo believes happiness is an "inside job"
     18 Apr: Valerie Bertinelli "can't just blame" her ex-husband for their "toxic, horrible marriage"
     18 Apr: Joey King feels she had to "grow up a little bit faster"
     18 Apr: Nicole Richie is having more fun than ever in her 40s
     18 Apr: Mandy Moore has launched a 'This Is Us' re-watch podcast
     Top Stories

    RUGBY RUGBY
    One of New Zealand's most decorated Black Sticks has retired from international hockey - Olivia Merry exits as the all-time top goal scorer with 128 from 284 appearances More...


    BUSINESS BUSINESS
    The Reserve Bank may have to make some unpopular decisions More...



     Today's News

    Law and Order:
    A fourth person has been charged with murder in the fatal shooting of Damon O'Rourke in Palmerston North 11:57

    Entertainment:
    Darius Rucker believes Beyonce's new album is good for country music 11:40

    Hockey:
    One of New Zealand's most decorated Black Sticks has retired from international hockey - Olivia Merry exits as the all-time top goal scorer with 128 from 284 appearances 11:27

    Law and Order:
    Police admit they should've done more for a young woman who was murdered by a man she complained was harassing her 11:27

    Entertainment:
    Jessica Chastain thinks Anne Hathaway is a "beautiful person" 11:10

    International:
    Pianist Yuja Wang wore a heart rate monitor during a marathon Rachmaninov performance 11:07

    Soccer:
    A special moment at home for English footballer Jude Bellingham 11:07

    Entertainment:
    Olivia Culpo believes happiness is an "inside job" 10:40

    Politics:
    Britain's foreign minister David Cameron says Israel has decided to retaliate against Iran 10:37

    Entertainment:
    Valerie Bertinelli "can't just blame" her ex-husband for their "toxic, horrible marriage" 10:10


     News Search






    Power Search


    © 2024 New Zealand City Ltd