Naga Munchetty said she struggled to open up about her chronic health condition at the BBC over fears of being seen as ‘weak’.
The presenter, 50, lived with painful heavy bleeding, vomiting, fainting and severe aching every two and a half weeks for 32 years before a private doctor finally diagnosed her with Adenomyosis in 2022.
Adenomyosis is a condition where the lining of the womb starts growing into the muscle in the wall of the womb. It can affect one in 10 women, according to the NHS.
Speaking at a Women’s Health event at the Cheltenham Literary Festival, Munchetty revealed that she turned down a hysterectomy, the only available cure, because she could not afford to take six weeks off work.
She feared that she would not be ‘up to scratch’ after a lengthy period off the air.
Munchetty said the culture of competitiveness at the BBC had made it difficult for her to open up about her health.
She said: ‘Legally, if you present with a health crisis or health condition, you have to be supported, but the fact is I’m a journalist in a highly competitive environment, and I’ve alluded to this, that being seen to be weak is a concern.’
Before she was diagnosed, Munchetty opted in 2019 to get sterilised in an attempt to stop her symptoms after her decision to get the contraceptive coil fitted in 2017 left her screaming in agony.
Presenter Naga Munchetty said she struggled to open up about her chronic health condition at the BBC over fears of being seen as ‘weak’
Female sterilisation is a permanent type of contraception, which requires keyhole surgery, where the fallopian tubes are blocked or cut to stop sperm meeting an egg.
She previously said the procedure wasn’t a tough decision as she and her husband James Haggar, 52, were certain they didn’t want children.
Munchetty told the crowd at the festival that having a chronic health condition in a competitive industry was ‘not easy’.
In her speech, heard by The Telegraph, she added: ‘I don’t know the answer in terms of how employers should be better because I just don’t think they get it.’
‘I was told it will get better when you have a baby. Like having a baby is a solution to anything. That’s more trauma than anything. And I didn’t want to.’
Her comments come after the presenter was placed ‘under review’ after being accused of bullying a junior colleague.
Munchetty was spoken to by executives after a junior staffer accused the journalist of bullying them, The Sun reported.
A BBC spokesperson previously told the Daily Mail: ‘While we do not comment on individual cases, we take all complaints about conduct at work extremely seriously and will not tolerate behaviour that is not in line with our values.
It comes after the presenter was placed ‘under review after she was accused of bullying a junior colleague.
‘We have robust processes in place and would encourage any staff with concerns to raise them directly with us so they can be addressed.’
She was also reportedly hauled into a meeting after she made a sex jibe during an ad break while hosting her radio show.
She is believed to have used a crude slang term for a sex act and reportedly asked a colleague if they had ever done it.
It was also reported that Munchetty was planning on quitting BBC Breakfast after she was accused of bullying.
Figures released by the BBC earlier this year revealed the presenter was awarded a £10,000 increase in her annual salary.
Her pay packet rose to an eye-watering £355,000 – almost double that of her co-host Charlie Stayt.
Stayt, 63, has remained in the £190,000 bracket as tensions between the pair are said to be ‘rife’.
The BBC has been contacted for further comment.
