Naga Munchetty's agonising 3-decade health battle that left her with no other 'option'

BBC Breakfast host Naga Munchetty has candidly opened up about her debilitating health condition that left her living in pain for 32 years.

In a new interview with The Times, Naga, 50, spoke about the painful symptoms she experienced, as well as her decision to get sterilised in her mid-forties as she felt like it was her "only option".

The presenter, who lives in Hertfordshire with her director husband, James Haggar, experienced awful symptoms from the age of 15, including fainting, severe aching, exhaustion, vomiting and heavy bleeding.

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When Naga opted to get the contraceptive coil fitted in 2017, the procedure left her screaming in agony. She had it removed a year later and made the decision to get sterilised in 2019 having previously decided not to have children in her mid-thirties.

"I knew I didn't want children and it didn't fit with my lifestyle," she told the publication. As she'd been refused the contraceptive injection Depo-Provera, she added that it felt like it was "her only option."

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Reflecting on people's reactions to her decision not to have children, the broadcast star continued: "There were even people who said, 'Oh, they haven't chosen not to have children, there are fertility problems'... They just couldn't accept that we'd chosen not to have children."

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Naga's womb condition, adenomyosis

It wasn't until 2022 that Naga was diagnosed with adenomyosis following a visit to a private doctor. The condition occurs when the lining of the womb starts growing into the muscle in the wall of the womb. It is thought to affect one in ten women in the UK.

While there is still no cure for adenomyosis or endometriosis, a hysterectomy to remove the uterus is sometimes offered to women with these conditions.

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Naga, who didn't want a hysterectomy as she didn't believe it would resolve her pain, posed the question: "How is excision the answer?... How does it make sense to cut a part of a woman's body out rather than try to investigate the problem?"

This isn't the first time Naga has spoken about her decision not to have children. During a 2023 interview with The Times, the presenter shared: "We never tried and I never miscarried, we just never really wanted them.

"We kept putting the decision off, then life got better for us, we became more selfish… and just didn't find the time."