‘I was really selfish having a baby aged 41’ says BBC host Rachel Burden as she reveals struggle of premature birth
RACHEL Burden has revealed the struggle of having a premature birth as she confessed to feeling ‘selfish’ having a baby at 41.
The beloved BBC Radio 5 presenter is a regular face on the news channel and BBC Breakfast.
While Rachel tends to keep her private life close to her chest, she’s spoken about her guilt at having another child later in life.
Rachel, now 49, already had three children with journalist Luke Mendham when she fell pregnant with her fourth.
However, from early on there were complications and Rachel was diagnosed with pre-eclampsia which causes high blood pressure and can be dangerous if untreated.
But within days of receiving the diagnosis the news anchor went into labour at just 31 weeks.
Rachel said she was “incredibly fortunate because he was effectively a healthy baby – he was tiny, he was 3lb, but he was healthy”.
But speaking to the Mid Point podcast, she revealed her guilt at having Henry later in life.
She said: “I had three very sort of straightforward pregnancies and I made the terribly arrogant assumption I’d have a fourth baby and it would be fine and straightforward.
“And I think sometimes when I reflect on it, I think it was a really selfish thing to do. I came from a big family – I really wanted a big family.
“I had that moment where Luke and I sat around a table when the third child had gone to school and thought, ‘Oh, this is so boring’.”
She continued: “And then I was 40 or 41 and I did get pregnant, and kind of said, ‘It will be fine, you will barely even notice it’.
Who are the current presenters of BBC Breakfast?
The flagship BBC show has had dozens of presenters during its impressive 40 years on air but the current stars are:
Jon Kay – Since 2022
Sally Nugent – Since 2021
Charlie Stayt – Since 2006
Naga Munchetty – Since 2014
Carol Kirkwood – Since 1997
“As the pregnancy went on, something wasn’t quite right and I was kind of puffing up.
“My mum was saying to me, ‘Something is not quite right about this’, and I was saying, ‘Nah, nah, it’s fine. I’m just busy’.”
Rachel recently left BBC Breakfast viewers furious after she made an on air blunder.
She fronted the Easter Sunday episode with Ben Thompson, 42.
The duo presented extensive coverage of the aftermath of the annual Oxford v Cambridge Boat Race, including some of the sickness faced by the crew.
Yet when Rachel accidentally declared Oxford the winners of the Men’s River Thames clash – as opposed to actual champs Cambridge – viewers were quick to call her out.