Reality TV star and actress Bamike Olawunmi, popularly known as Bambam, has shared the terrifying ordeal she faced while giving birth to her first child.
The actress, who rose to fame through Big Brother Naija, revealed the life-threatening complications she endured during labor, shedding light on the dangers some women experience in childbirth. Her candid revelation came during an episode of the Me & My Girls podcast, where she opened up about the traumatic experience that nearly cost her and her child’s life.
Bambam and her husband, Teddy A, welcomed their daughter, Zendaya, in 2020, nearly a year after their wedding. While the couple had been overjoyed about starting a family, the reality of childbirth proved to be far more challenging than they had anticipated.
She described the delivery as a near-death experience, recounting how her body began shutting down in response to the strain of labor. The distressing experience left a deep emotional scar, one she has had to work through in the years since.
During the podcast, Bambam revealed that multiple vital organs began to fail during labor, putting both her and her baby at severe risk. “During my first labor, my kidney failed, my heart was weak, my liver… everything was just shutting down because of childbirth,” she recalled.
She also disclosed that her daughter had detached from the placenta before birth, a dangerous situation that could have led to stillbirth if she had arrived at the hospital a moment later. Her testimony underscored the importance of timely medical intervention and the critical role healthcare professionals play in ensuring safe deliveries.
The actress also highlighted the issue of medical negligence in maternal healthcare, suggesting that many stillbirths could be prevented with better medical attention. She noted that delays in treatment, unskilled healthcare providers, or late hospital arrivals are often contributing factors to tragic outcomes during childbirth.
Her own experience reinforced the urgency of addressing these issues, as she acknowledged how close she had come to losing her child due to unforeseen complications.
Even after surviving the ordeal, Bambam admitted that the psychological toll of the experience lingered long after childbirth. She struggled with persistent thoughts of “what if?”—questioning what could have happened had things gone differently.
The emotional burden of these thoughts haunted her for a long time, leading her to seek therapy to process the trauma. Over time, she learned to embrace gratitude instead of fear, but the memories of that near-fatal experience remain vivid. Her story serves as a powerful reminder of the hidden dangers of childbirth and the need for improved maternal healthcare services.
