Naga Munchetty's mum's response when she told her she wasn't having kids

Daily Mirror

16-06-2025

Presenter, Naga Munchetty, who celebrated her 50th birthday in February, has opened up about her choice not to have children, which she admits did not go down well with her mum
BBC Breakfast star, Naga Munchetty, admits her choice not to have children left her mum "devastated". The plucky presenter, who turned 50 in February, is one of the most recognisable faces on TV with a journalism career spanning more than 25 years.
However, Naga chose not to have kids with her husband James Hagger, and says this initially caused a rift with her mother. Opening up about her personal decision after opting to be surgically sterilised in her forties after undergoing keyhole surgery to block her fallopian tubes in 2019, she said: "My mum was devastated, she is from a different generation."
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On why she opted not to have children while explaining that her mum was now more accepting of her choice, she told Hello! magazine: "It was a conscious (decision) and I am doing lots of other things and living a very fulfilling life. She doesn't think I've wasted an opportunity."
Naga also said that parenthood was "exhausting" and a "commitment for life", as she told Saga magazine: 'We liked the life we had and we wanted to pursue that life. Parenthood is expensive, it's exhausting and a commitment for life.
'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?"
As well as her family life, Naga told Hello! about the crippling pain she suffered from adenomyosis, a gynaecological condition where the lining of the womb grows into the muscular wall of the womb.
The BBC Breakfast presenter has now released a book, It's Probably Nothing, which examines the ways women's health concerns are often dismissed or downplayed in medical settings.
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Calling it "the evil twin of endometriosis", she said: "I was just exhausted. I thought all the other women in the world were coping and thriving, and that because I've dared to bring it up, I was (perceived as) weak."
Naga said she had been suffering from the agonising womb condition, which was dismissed by doctors for 32 years.
Appearing before the Women and Equalities Committee two years ago alongside Geordie Shore star, Vicky Pattison, the presenter said she only got answers about the agonising condition when she went private.
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Talking to Tory committee chairwoman Caroline Nokes, she said: "I started my period at 15. It would last for 11 or 12 days. Eight or nine of them were very heavy. I'd throw up on the first day, pass out once or twice during the cycle. I'd be wrapped around a toilet. I'd still go to school. I still went to work. Whenever I went to the doctor I was told it was normal."
Explaining the impact the condition had on her private life, the presenter said it made "relationships difficult", but she'd thankfully had "understanding partners". She also said her adenomyosis, which is similar to endometriosis, has left her 'paranoid' about bleeding, forcing her to wear dark and loose clothing while on her period.
She shared: "For work, I wouldn't sleep because I'd set an alarm at 2am to change the towel and super heavy tampon." Revealing her adenomyosis wasn't diagnosed until she was 47, Naga was asked by Ms Nokes: "So 32 years?", to which the Naga replied: "Yes".