This Morning hosts Alison Hammond and Dermot O'Leary interviewed former The Saturdays star Rochelle Humes on Friday ahead of her brand new documentary.
Channel 4's The Black Maternity Scandal: Dispatches sees Rochelle investigate why black women are four times more likely to die in childbirth than white women.
Rochelle, 32, is mum to three children with JLS star husband Marvin Humes - Blake, who was born in October 2020, Alaia-May, six, and Valentina, four.
Rochelle explained: "I was approached to do this doc at a time when - last year - I was early pregnant with Blake and at that time the figure was five times more.
"And I was compelled to know why, the fact that women are dying or are “near misses” in and around childbirth and they’re more at risk of that because of their skin colour.
"I was compelled to find out more and I suppose to use my voice to help amplify the voices of women that are campaigning for this tirelessly for years now."
She explained the documentary felt "too heavy" while she was pregnant last year, so the programme was delayed.
Asked if doing the documentary affected her as a mother, Rochelle replied: "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."
She continued: "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.
"What I really hope for is by making noise about this, is that we get a solid commitment from the Government to introduce a target because that is what we haven’t seen. We did approach them to come on the doc and be interviewed. Unfortunately, they declined that and offered us a statement, which is unfortunate and disappointing.
Speaking about hearing these women’s stories, Rochelle recalled: "Completely awful. Just what you would always think would be the unthinkable, but sadly it isn’t."
She added: "I suppose the message across all of the women that we spoke to is, ‘We’ll be damned when our kids are having kids that this figure continues to rise.’ Where does it have to get to, does it have to get to ten times more for it to be listened to a little more?"
On what needs to change, Rochelle concluded: "First of all, I think we need that level of commitment. There’s talks of introducing a target and who is going to do that, is it the Government? Is it the NHS?
"I think we need to know when that is, so by this date we are going to make sure that we are committed to making this number drop. That’s a big factor.
"I think an element that gives me real hope is that there's a scheme that they are introducing now, which is called The Continuity of Care, which essentially means when you are a pregnant woman you will receive the same team.
"So you will have the same midwife and if she is not around or free, I think there will be a team of three of them. So you’re familiar with those people, they know your pregnancy, they know your journey.
"You are on the same wavelength, you’ve got the same rapport, you’ve got a relationship with that person.
"I think that will be the key for change... That you’ve got that same person that you’ve got that relationship with, that listens to you and I think every woman deserves that, right?"
* This Morning airs weekdays on ITV at 10am, The Black Maternity Scandal: Dispatches airs Monday 29th March at 8pm
