Emotional Rochelle Humes leaves fans in tears as star speaks to black mother whose ‘life or death’ childbirth left her stomach carrying SIX litres of blood in ‘heartbreaking’ documentary
- For support relating to the matters in Dispatches: Black Maternity Scandal and in this article visit birthtraumaassociation.org.uk
Rochelle Humes was left in tears during her Dispatches: Black Maternity Scandal documentary on Monday night, as she interviewed a black mother about her traumatic experience of childbirth.
Investigating the harrowing fact that Black women are around four times more likely to die during childbirth than white women in the UK, mother-of-three Rochelle spoke to Jade – also a mother-of-three – who recounted the hemorrhage she experienced during the birth of her first child.
Jade told Rochelle, 32: ‘I remember saying to the doctor, ‘I’m not gonna die, am I?’ It probably felt more traumatic at the time.
Harrowing: Rochelle Humes was left in tears during her Dispatches: Black Maternity Scandal documentary on Monday night, as she interviewed a Black mother about her traumatic experience of childbirth
‘It becomes a bit of a daze. I remember asking for morphine so I had morphine and I remember asking for food.
‘My husband raised the alarm a couple of times like hey, my wife isn’t really responding to me, she’s not really doing much.
‘I was left in that state for quite a while until my husband was continuously raising the alarm.’
She explained that doctors insisted that Jade’s symptoms were a natural reaction to the morphine, until 12 hours later she was appropriately treated.
Jade told Rochelle, 32: ‘I remember saying to the doctor, ‘I’m not gonna die, am I?’ It probably felt more traumatic at the time’
Emotional: The presenter asked Jade whether she felt it was because she is a Black woman that she was not listened to immediately
She was finally administered an antidote to reverse the effects.
‘I remember saying, ‘I’m in pain, my stomach’. They did the scan, six litres of blood was in my stomach. Within three or four minutes I was in theatre because I guess it was a life-or-death situation,’ Jade recalled, leaving Rochelle in tears.
The presenter asked Jade whether she felt it was because she is a Black woman that she was not listened to immediately.
‘Possibly yeah. I am Black and I don’t want to [come across as] aggressive. When you sit here with the reality of was I not listened to because of my skin colour, that cuts deep,’ was Jade’s reply.
Fans lauded the former pop star, taking to Twitter to express how upset they had been left watching the 30-minute special.
Praise: Fans lauded the former pop star, taking to Twitter to express how upset they had been left watching the 30-minute special
Lauded: ‘Well done to Rochelle and most importantly all the women who told their stories in this documentary and those doing the work. Glad some awareness has been raised. Hoping for change now because the disparities are actually frightening!’ one viewer tweeted
‘Well done to Rochelle and most importantly all the women who told their stories in this documentary and those doing the work. Glad some awareness has been raised. Hoping for change now because the disparities are actually frightening!’ one viewer tweeted.
‘My daughter now has the strength to complain, if all women of colour take a stand and continuously show their anger they WILL have to hear us. Thank you Rochelle!’ another posted.
‘Just sobbed through Dispatches The Black Maternity Scandal just heartbreaking,’ another tweet read.
A fourth viewer penned: ‘One of the best programmes in this year so far. Black and other British minorities that are position of power and on a influencing platforms should start pushing the govt to do the right thing for the the British minorities.’
Eye-opening: Rochelle is pictured with husband Marvin and their son Blake, now five months, after his birth
A fifth penned: ‘#Dispatches for bringing the black maternity scandal to mainstream attention. As someone who was refused any pain relief and was completely ignored during labour I understand just how much change is needed!’
Ahead of the broadcast, Rochelle detailed the emotional impact making the documentary had on her and said she was pregnant with her son Blake, five months, when she was first approached to host the show.
Appear on Friday’s This Morning, she told Alison Hammond and Dermot O’Leary she had been completely unaware of the statistics until making the programme.
‘I didn’t know until I was pregnant with Blake and I was supposed to start filming this last year and it felt too heavy to be totally honest with you, at a time when I was pregnant myself,’ she said.
‘Black women are now four times more likely to die, mixed race women are three times as likely and Asian women twice as likely.’
She said: ‘The disparities are so vast and it’s not okay, and as a mother it broke me really, it really did’
Doting mum: Rochelle is proud mum to daughters Alaia-Mai, seven, Valentina, four, and son Blake
Asked if doing the documentary affected her as a mother, Rochelle revealed: ‘One hundred percent. I don’t think you have to be a mother for it to affect you. On a human level it’s not okay.
‘The disparities are so vast and it’s not okay, and as a mother it broke me really, it really did.’
Rochelle said she ‘felt compelled to investigate’ why women of colour are more at risk of dying around childbirth.
‘I wish the documentary tied up and there was resolve, but unfortunately it’s a lot more deep rooted than that…,’ she told the hosts.
‘The main issue that comes to play is that black women aren’t feeling like their pain is being taken seriously or that they’re listened to and that is the underlying issue that comes up time after time.’
Rochelle said she hopes the film will ‘make a noise’ and ‘we get a solid commitment from the Government to introduce a target because that is what we haven’t seen’.
Dispatches: The Black Maternity Scandal is available to watch on All 4.
For support relating to the matters in Dispatches: Black Maternity Scandal and in this article visit birthtraumaassociation.org.uk
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