Bambam recalls her traumatic childbirth experience, revealing kidney failure and organ shutdown, and how therapy helped her overcome haunting “what ifs.”

Reality TV star and actress, Bamike Olawunmi, popularly known as Bambam, has opened up about the traumatic experience she endured during the birth of her first child, Zendaya, in 2020.

In a recent appearance on the ‘Me & My Girls’ podcast, Bambam shared the harrowing details of her childbirth experience, describing how her body began to shut down during labour.

Bambam, who welcomed her daughter with husband Teddy A, revealed that her kidney failed, and her liver and other vital organs started to shut down as she gave birth.

She also explained that her daughter’s placenta had detached during the delivery, putting both her life and Zendaya’s in immediate danger.

She recounted the terrifying moments leading up to her delivery, explaining, “During my first labour, my kidney failed, my heart was weak, my liver… everything was just shutting down because of childbirth.

She [my daughter] had detached from the placenta. If I was a second late [to the hospital], she would have lost oxygen and I would have had a stillbirth.”

Bambam went on to express the guilt and fear she continues to carry, particularly when reflecting on the “what ifs” that have haunted her since that life-threatening experience.

“Every time I look at her, I just say, ‘What if…?’ The what ifs have tormented me. They tormented me so much. I would look at her and I would just… even just remembering I’m getting so nervous,” she confessed. “The what ifs were so many and they haunted me for a while.”

The actress highlighted the critical importance of timely medical attention during childbirth, pointing out that many stillbirths are caused by negligence, either due to medical staff not acting swiftly enough or patients arriving too late to receive the necessary care.

“A lot of stillbirths are due to negligence. It’s either the doctor was not sound or the nurse didn’t do her job on time or they arrived at the hospital late,” Bambam noted.

Despite the trauma she faced, Bambam revealed that therapy helped her to process her emotions and come to terms with her experience. “I had to get therapy to walk me through being grateful,” she said, adding that her journey toward healing included learning to appreciate her daughter’s life and recognising the fragility of the moment.

Bambam’s candid reflection on her childbirth experience sheds light on the often-overlooked challenges women face during labour and the profound emotional impact it can have on new mothers.