Strictly professional dancer Oti Mabuse, 36, is currently pregnant with her second baby with husband Marius Iepure and has reflected on the trauma she still holds after giving birth to her daughter prematurely
Strictly legend Oti Mabuse has opened up about her fears of giving birth again – three years after she and her daughter nearly died.
The professional dancer, 36, is currently pregnant with her second baby with husband Marius Iepure and has reflected on the trauma she still holds after giving birth to her daughter prematurely when her waters broke early.
Oti underwent a 16-hour natural labour, during which she ended up contracting sepsis and the infection was passed onto her newborn. Her daughter was initially in critical condition and was placed in an incubator, going on to spend six weeks in NICU at University College London Hospital before she was eventually discharged.
Opening up in an Instagram post, Oti shared photos and videos from her time in hospital as she said that the “trauma stays with you”.
“Almost three years ago, I gave birth to our little girl… and entered a world I don’t think you ever truly forget,” she began the post. “If you’re a NICU mum, you’ll know. The sound of the monitors. The tiny nappies and all those wires. Washing your hands over and over. Waiting for updates, holding your breath. The first cuddle you waited so long for. Leaving the hospital with your heart still inside it.
“You remember the smallest milestones, because in there, nothing feels small.
“And you never forget the people who helped bring you both home. I will forever be grateful to the incredible doctor @nikkilack_obstetrician who saved my life and my baby’s life, and the NHS neonatal team who cared for our daughter when she was so tiny and vulnerable. How lucky we were to have that expertise, equipment and kindness around us.
“The trauma stays with you. Even when your baby grows, even when life becomes beautifully ordinary, some memories still feel like yesterday.
“Now, carrying our second baby, I’m holding gratitude and fear and hope all at once. Hoping this birth will be different. Hoping for a gentler beginning.
“So many women have different experiences the second time around, and I’m allowing myself to hope that I can too.
“To any NICU mum feeling those emotions again: you can be grateful for your baby and still hurt over what you both went through. You can be frightened and still hopeful. There is room for all of it.
“Today, I’m pregnant, grateful and blessed. Taking it one day at a time. Sending love to every family in NICU right now, and everyone who still carries it with them.”
Her friends and followers rushed to the comments to share their support, with Dianne Buswell posting heart emojis along with Joanne Clifton and Chyna Mills.
One follower wrote: “I remember feeling the exact same way. My son was born at 36+2 and my daughter at 37+3. Both NICU babies and forever etched in my memory. My son started school a few weeks ago and I couldn’t stop crying as all I could think about was my first tiny NICU baby.”
While another commented: “My baby was born at 29 weeks and is 16 now. The only thing that’s needs to be changed is not putting us nicu mums on the ward with the other parents with their babies as that broke me hearing all the babies and not knowing how your baby is.”
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