Jodie Turner-Smith has revealed that “systematic racism” led her to decide to give birth to her daughter at home.
“We had already decided on a home birth because of concerns about negative birth outcomes for Black women in America,” the “Queen & Slim” actress revealed British Vogue’s September 2020 issue. “According to the [CDC], the risk of pregnancy-related deaths is more than three times greater for Black women than for white women, pointing, it seems to me, to systemic racism.”
Turner-Smith is married to “Little Fires Everywhere” actor, Joshua Jackson.
“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,” she shared with the publication. “Delivering at home ensured that I had what every single woman deserves to have: full agency in determining my birth support.”
The stunning actress says that her mother helped shape her vision of how she wanted to raise her children.
“Both of us had watched our own mothers struggle to raise children without such support. Both of us were determined to create something different for ourselves,” she added. “He kept saying to me, ‘There’s no part of this that I’m going to miss.’ And there wasn’t.”
The couple tied the knot in December. The following month they announced that they were expecting a child.
“A fantastic voyage that begins in wonder and transformation,” she wrote on Instagram. “I will never forget how this felt and now won’t soon forget how it looked.”
Their daughter was born in April.
