Olivia Bowen has shared some intimate details into the birth of her first child Abel with husband of four years, Alex.
The pair met on Love Island and welcomed their son last year.
Olivia, 29, has previously shared that her labour with the tot wasn’t the easiest and has since gone into further detail in an candid op-ed.
Writing forSilver Cross, the mum-of-one explained she was growing impatient after Abel was two days late.
Despite being given some exercise to do by her midwife, the tips worked to no avail so Olivia decided to go for lunch with friends.
It was then that her contractions began, so she headed home and sit tight for ten hours and endured the pain knowing it was still too early to go to hospital.
After the 11th hour, the pain got too much for the now-29 year old star, and headed to the hospital with Alex, 31, and her midwife in tow. By the time she arrived, Olivia was 5cm dilated and could head straight into the birthing pool as planned.
“At this point I was on gas and air, listening to music and talking about pigeons for some reason. I was in the pool around two hours later and the midwife asked to check baby’s heart rate. We couldn’t get a reading so of course I got out to check. Unfortunately, it had lowered a lot,” Oliva went on to write.
“Upon checking, my waters were bulging and the midwife broke these for me, only to find out that baby had produced meconium so I could no longer stay on the birthing unit and had to be moved in a wheelchair over to the main maternity wing.
“At this point I was so disheartened, in so much pain and absolutely exhausted. The beautiful birth I had planned and was so close to having was taken away in seconds.”
According to kidshealth.org, meconium is a newborn's first poo which usually happens post-birth. However, if it happens in the womb it can cause complications for the baby.
Unlike usual poo, meconium is composed of materials ingested during the time the infant spends in the uterus, such as amniotic fluid.
Several hours and an epidural later, Olivia was still only 6cm dilated sparking the new mum to make the call to be induced.
Abel then had another meconium in the womb which caused his heart rate to slow, meaning Olivia was advised to have a C-section. She was also offered forceps, but the star still wasn’t fully dilated.
Luckily she eventually went on to reach 10cm dilation, making forceps an option.
“We were rushed through to the theatre and by some miracle I had finally fully dilated so forceps were an option again. We were both so scared, so tired and so worried about little Abel. I actually have a video of Abel being born and it just makes me bawl my eyes out every time!” said Olivia.
She then added that with "a few strong pushes" their son arrived, but didn't make a noise as he was placed on Olivia's chest. He was then whisked away in what Olivia describes as “the longest few minutes of my life”, before letting out an almighty cry.
READ MORE:
To read the very best of today’s OK! content from breaking news to Royals and TV – CLICK HERE
Paris Hilton shocks fans as she announces arrival of first child with husband Carter Reum
David and Victoria Beckham’s love-at-first-sight romance as they celebrate 25 years since engagement
Riley Keough posts final photo with 'beautiful mama' Lisa Marie Presley before her death
For all your daily celebrity news and gossip, sign up to OK!’s newsletter – CLICK HERE
Source: Read Full Article
