‘WHY AM I CALLED WICKED?’ BBC Breakfast’s Naga Munchetty BREAKS DOWN in Tears amid Backlash over sterilization – Her painful journey and right to choose spark fierce debate.
Naga Munchetty has admitted she was vilified after revealing she had been sterilised.
The broadcaster, 50, underwent keyhole surgery to block her fallopian tubes in 2019 when she was in her mid-forties, having decided years prior with husband James Haggar that she didn’t want children.
While she had initially tried the contraceptive coil, the procedure left her in agony and she was forced to remove it a year later.
With the coil no longer an option and having decided she didn’t want to be ‘reliant on hormones or the regimen of the pill’, she underwent surgery – a permanent form of contraception.
Yet Naga has revealed that she faced a backlash when she revealed her decision, telling Saga magazine – for whom she also posed for a striking photoshoot – that she was branded ‘wicked’ over her choice.
Naga began: ‘We liked the life we had and we wanted to pursue that life. Parenthood is expensive, it’s exhausting and a commitment for life.’
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Naga Munchetty, 50, told Saga magazine she was vilified for ‘denying her parents grandchildren’ after choosing to be surgically sterilised when she was in her 40s
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Naga suffers from adenomyosis, a condition which affects one in ten women in the UK, occurs where the lining of the uterus starts growing into the muscle in the wall of the womb
A simplistic introduction to Female Sterilisation operation
She continued: ‘My mum will say, “You’re still my baby and I worry about you.” But I remember people saying, “That’s so wicked! How can you deny your parents grandchildren?”
‘It was hard for Mum, but she understands now. She says, “Naga, it would have been wonderful to have grandchildren, but equally, it’s wonderful seeing what you’re doing and who you’ve become.” Isn’t that what we want for our children?’
Naga suffers from adenomyosis, a condition which affects one in ten women in the UK, occurs where the lining of the uterus starts growing into the muscle in the wall of the womb.
She was diagnosed in November 2022, but had been suffering with symptoms since the age of 15, taking 32 years for her to get a diagnosis.
Naga has now released a book on medical misogyny entitled It’s Probably Nothing, about the importance of women being heard in medical settings.
‘I feel a lot of responsibility as custodian to so many women’s stories,’ she confessed.
‘They were often in tears talking to me, realising how much time and how many opportunities they’ve lost because of their health. They blame themselves for not pushing harder, though they did the best they could.’
She revealed that she managed to keep her condition secret while hosting BBC Breakfast, explaining: ‘People see me as a trusted source of information, no one’s interested if I’m feeling unwell.’
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Naga pictured with her husband James Haggar at the British Academy Television Craft Awards in 2017. The couple, who wed in 2007, decided they didn’t want to have children
What is Adenomyosis?
Adenomyosis is a condition where the lining of the womb (uterus) starts growing into the muscle in the wall of the womb.
It can affect one in 10 women.
There are treatments that can help with any symptoms.
Adenomyosis is more commonly diagnosed in women over the age of 30.
It can affect anyone who has periods.
She continued: ‘In our industry, you don’t want to seem weak and you don’t want concessions because there’s competition all around and you’re always trying to be the best you can.
‘So I will not let it affect my work. I’m stubb0rn as h3ll. I dose myself up with painkillers if need be and don’t compromise being good at my job.’
Last month, it was claimed there was an ugly row brewing at BBC Breakfast, with Naga and co-presenter Charlie Stayt said to be ‘barely speaking’ to their editor after accusing him of ‘bu::lly1ng and misc0nduct’.
The pair, who are based at the Beeb’s Salford studios and earn a combined salary of £545,000, are described as being ‘at loggerheads’ with Richard Frediani, known as Fredi to his colleagues.
Sources on the show told The Mail’s Katie Hind that Naga has expressed uneasiness about his behaviour to bosses at the corporation.
Naga is said to have raised concerns about Frediani with BBC News managers, with one insider claiming the furore has ‘blown up’ staff WhatsApp groups.
Frediani meanwhile is understood to have been at the centre of at least two workplace misconduct complaints since he became editor of the flagship news programme in 2019.
The BBC declined to comment on individual HR matters when previously approached by MailOnline.
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Naga revealed she managed to keep the pain of her secret adenomyosis secret while hosting BBC Breakfast (pictured with co-presenter Charlie Stayt)
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