News | Entertainment
3 Nov 2025 11:54
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
     31 Oct: Fatboy Slim was snogged "full on the face" by Brazilian soccer superstar Ronaldo when he was the DJ at his wedding
     31 Oct: John Cleese has led tributes to Prunella Scales who has died at the age of 93
     31 Oct: Pamela Anderson "jumped off the crazy train" by ditching makeup
     31 Oct: Wanda Sykes has revealed Will Smith called her to apologise for ruining her big night at the Oscars
     31 Oct: Bam Margera has celebrated a year of sobriety after "deleting" all the "negative" influences from his life
     31 Oct: Simu Liu feels that using artificial intelligence (AI) to replace actors is "antiethical"
     31 Oct: Georgia May Jagger is "precious" about mother Jerry Hall's clothes after Lizzy Jagger lost some of her collection in a house fire
     Top Stories

    RUGBY RUGBY
    Anxiousness among the All Blacks coaching cohort as they await a scan on Jordie Barrett's leg ahead of game two on their grand slam tour in Scotland More...


    BUSINESS BUSINESS
    One of the country's largest KiwiSaver fund managers says its new company will make governments commit to infrastructure More...



     Today's News

    Rugby:
    Anxiousness among the All Blacks coaching cohort as they await a scan on Jordie Barrett's leg ahead of game two on their grand slam tour in Scotland 11:07

    Rugby League:
    From our what-could-go-wrong desk.. 10:47

    Rugby:
    The availability of Scott and Jordie Barrett for this weekend's All Blacks test against Scotland in Edinburgh will be decided overnight New Zealand time 10:27

    Politics:
    Auckland's Mayor is questioning the Northland Corridor's multibillion-dollar price tag 10:07

    Business:
    One of the country's largest KiwiSaver fund managers says its new company will make governments commit to infrastructure 9:47

    Politics:
    The Prime Minister says sweeping curriculum changes are vital to lift falling education standards 9:27

    Health & Safety:
    Health New Zealand's concerned measles could become widespread, despite vaccination rates picking up 8:47

    Soccer:
    Two further injuries have smothered Wellington's mojo in a 1-all A-League football draw against Central Coast in Gosford 7:47

    Law and Order:
    Vets are once again leading calls for a ban on the private sale of fireworks 7:37

    Rugby League:
    Tonga league player Eliesa Katoa needed urgent medical assistance on the Eden Park sideline after suffering three head knocks during his side's 40-14 loss to the Kiwis 7:27


     News Search






    Power Search


    © 2025 New Zealand City Ltd