News | Entertainment
9 Dec 2025 4:04
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
     08 Dec: Josh Brolin knows a "different guy" to the Donald Trump who is president now
     08 Dec: Millie Bobby Brown "of course" felt safe with David Harbour
     08 Dec: Dick Van Dyke "probably neglected" his children when they were young
     08 Dec: Prince William has sought to "bring comfort" to the families of seriously ill children from Gaza
     08 Dec: Kelly Osbourne has shared her heartbreak about her first Christmas without late father Ozzy
     08 Dec: Heidi Klum and her husband Tom Kaulitz "felt great" after completing a worm and parasite cleanse.
     08 Dec: Nicole Kidman spent her first Thanksgiving (27.11.25) without Keith Urban doing a charity run
     Top Stories

    RUGBY RUGBY
    The father of Tauranga teen running sensation Sam Ruthe has paid tribute to the long-term record-holder his son has consigned to history More...


    BUSINESS BUSINESS
    Details of a major shake-up to the Resource Management Act are coming tomorrow More...



     Today's News

    Environment:
    Residents of Whakapapa Village have been advised to prepare for possible evacuation as fire burns near Tongariro National park 21:57

    Entertainment:
    Josh Brolin knows a "different guy" to the Donald Trump who is president now 21:50

    Entertainment:
    Millie Bobby Brown "of course" felt safe with David Harbour 21:20

    Auckland:
    Fire crews in Auckland's CBD have managed to contain a fire which started in the basement of a building on Queen Street 21:17

    Entertainment:
    Dick Van Dyke "probably neglected" his children when they were young 20:50

    International:
    Trump hosts Kennedy Center Honors in historic first 20:37

    Entertainment:
    Prince William has sought to "bring comfort" to the families of seriously ill children from Gaza 20:20

    Entertainment:
    Kelly Osbourne has shared her heartbreak about her first Christmas without late father Ozzy 19:50

    Entertainment:
    Heidi Klum and her husband Tom Kaulitz "felt great" after completing a worm and parasite cleanse. 19:20

    Law and Order:
    Former Tongan rugby league international Mark Roiall - has been found safe 19:07


     News Search






    Power Search


    © 2025 New Zealand City Ltd