Rebecca Adlington has announced the birth of her baby daughter. The Olympic swimmer has confirmed the arrival of her little girl, who they have called Thea Joy Parsons.
Taking to Instagram, the former competitive swimmer wrote: “Our family is complete.” Rebecca gave fans a first look at her baby as the family formed hearts with her hands around her hospital cot.
The 37-year-old also revealed her daughter’s name is Thea Joy Parson. The little girl is Rebecca’s second child with her husband, Andy Parsons, and her third in total. She shares two-year-old son Albie with Andy and eight-year-old daughter Summer with her ex-husband, Harry Needs.
Many people congratulated Rebecca on the birth of her daughter, as athlete Greg Rutherford commented: “Massive congratulations.” Fellow swimmer Jazz Carlin wrote: “The most amazing news, congratulations to you all! Hope you’re feeling ok, sending lots of love.”
A fan said: “Beautiful name for an absolute beauty congrats to you all.” Another wrote: “Congratulations on the safe arrival of baby Thea.” A third shared: “Aw congratulations baby girl will be so loved by you all.”
The Olympian announced her pregnancy a few months ago, just days after an honest and open interview about the two miscarriages she suffered. The swimmer has been open about the tragic two miscarriages she faced. She discovered her first during a routine 12-week scan in 2022, and then in 2023, she was five months pregnant when a scan revealed there was no heartbeat.
Taking to social media, she shared in September: “We want to share that we are expecting a child. It has been an emotional and physical rollercoaster navigating these past 19 months of trying, but this pregnancy has been a small miracle. We questioned whether we wanted to share this news but we want to continue to be open and honest about our journey and be mindful of the struggles that others have had and continue to have.”
She added: “We are taking each day as it comes and are incredibly grateful for the care we are receiving from the NHS (Rainbow Team) and are feeling overwhelmingly supported by them. While we are cautiously overjoyed, we carry awareness of the quiet struggles many face, and we send love to those hearts too. We know so many people are still waiting for this kind of news.”
In December, Rebecca said her pregnancy with baby Thea was “completely different” as she didn’t take many photos, didn’t do a gender reveal or a baby shower. She clarified: “This isn’t because I’m not excited, it’s because I’m fearful. Anyone who’s had a rainbow pregnancy will likely understand.”
The term “rainbow pregnancy” is used to describe a pregnancy that follows a pregnancy loss. The mum continued: “Mentally and emotionally, this has been my hardest pregnancy. After a counselling session with @petalscharity, I wanted to share a few things that have really helped me, in case they help someone else too. I’ve really tried hard recently to not compare. After loss, comparison can feel automatic.
“I was encouraged to focus on the differences between this pregnancy and our miscarriages, rather than the similarities. We#ve given our little one a nick name, ours is Jellytot. It’s helped us stop comparing to Harper [the daughter she lost] and allowed our family to start bonding with little one already too.
“It took me a long time to admit I’m struggling but learnt it’s ok to admit it’s hard. Being anxious and struggling doesn’t take away from how grateful I am to be pregnant, it just means I’m human.”
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