Gemma Atkinson shares terrifying details of baby Mia's birth

Dan Seddon
Photo credit: Anthony Harvey - Getty Images
Photo credit: Anthony Harvey - Getty Images

From Digital Spy

Former Strictly Come Dancing star Gemma Atkinson has revealed the terrifying details of the recent birth of her first child.

Gemma and her partner, Strictly pro Gorka Marquez, welcomed baby Mia into the world earlier this month, but the birthing experience proved to be horrendously stressful for everyone involved.

She took to Instagram to explain why.

Photo credit: Karwai Tang - Getty Images
Photo credit: Karwai Tang - Getty Images

Related: Gemma Atkinson reveals she has had her fourth kidney infection during her pregnancy

Uploading a photo of herself in hospital with her newborn, Gemma wrote: "This picture was taken when Mia was 30hrs old. The weary smile on my face doesn't quite portray how happy I was inside as 30hrs earlier, things could have gone very differently.

"Mia was a tiny baby, 4lb 10. With that in mind the midwife was concerned she wouldn't be strong enough to open my cervix. My water broke on a tues & we gave her the benefit of the doubt but by the Wednesday evening despite her being in the perfect place & so low down, she still hadn't managed it. The decision was made to induce me to help her along but she disliked that even more.

"With every contraction her heart rate dropped. On the 3rd one midwife Katie who was taking care of me at the time pressed the panic alarm & within 15 mins I was rushed out, prepped & delivered Mia via an emergency C section," she continued.

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This picture was taken when Mia was 30hrs old. The weary smile on my face doesn’t quite portray how happy I was inside as 30hrs earlier, things could have gone very differently. Mia was a tiny baby, 4lb 10. With that in mind the midwife was concerned she wouldn’t be strong enough to open my cervix. My water broke on a tues & we gave her the benefit of the doubt but by the Wednesday evening despite her being in the perfect place & so low down, she still hadn’t managed it. The decision was made to induce me to help her along but she disliked that even more. With every contraction her heart rate dropped. On the 3rd one midwife Katie who was taking care of me at the time pressed the panic alarm & within 15 mins I was rushed out, prepped & delivered Mia via an emergency C section. It wasn’t what I’d planned but thanks to my hypnobirthing despite the madness & panic, I was able to calmly keep my breathing technique & accept whatever is best for Mia just do it! 2hrs later I was alone with Gorks & Mia blissfully happy in a ward when I suddenly felt extremely unwell. Gorka got a doctor and she took 1 look at me & again pressed the panic button. I was having a hemorrhage. A big one & I lost a lot of blood. I don’t remember much other than having around 9 doctors in the room, some injecting me, hooking me to drips, physically pulling clots out of me & one comforting Gorks who was beside himself in the corner. I woke in another room with Gorks & my family there, Mia sleeping soundly & a lovely midwife named Di who was checking my notes. The trauma was over & thanks to our NHS & incredible hospital staff we were ok. I’m fully aware for some people it’s a different outcome & I feel incredibly lucky that me & Mia are healthy & healed. My mum moved in with me while Gorks was away & has been incredible! If I can be half the mum she is to me I’ll be happy! I’m going to remind Mia of this story any time she has doubts about what she can achieve in life. The odds were against her from the start, but she’s been a little fighter from day 1. Feeds perfectly & is gaining weight like I do on an all inclusive holiday! We’re SO proud of her, she’s our little soldier & I’m so Grateful ❤️

A post shared by Gemma Atkinson (@glouiseatkinson) on Jul 20, 2019 at 3:01am PDT

Gemma also opened up about a post-birth haemorrhage she suffered later down the line where she "lost a lot of blood", but luckily herself and Mia are both healthy and fully recovered now.

She said: "The odds were against her from the start, but she's been a little fighter from day 1. feeds perfectly & is gaining weight like I do on an all inclusive holiday! We're SO proud of her, she's our little soldier & I'm so Grateful."

The couple's friends soon responded to Gemma's story, with musician Craig David writing: "You're both fighters & i'm so happy for You & Gorks that you have beautiful Mia now to bring an even deeper Love between you! Sending you all my Love xxx."

Soap star Adam Thomas also replied with "Wow !!!! So happy your both safe babe xxx."

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