25 February 2024 , 16:29
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Strictly star Oti Mabuse has revealed she and her husband Marius Iepure initially saw a therapist to cope with their daughter's "traumatic" birth.
The 33-year-old dancer announced she had her baby in December, saying their new bundle of joy was "the best news" they could have asked for. But she has since spoken out about how difficult their journey was after her baby - whose name she hasn't announced - was born "very" premature and contracted sepsis.
And recovering Oti has praised the NHS, who appointed the family a therapist so they could make sure they check in on their "wellbeing and mental health".
Marius and Oti recently welcomed their first child (Dave Benett/Getty Images for EE)
Oti said seeing Marius with their baby is "adorable" (Dave Benett/Getty Images for Cha)The Dancing On Ice judge told the Sun on Sunday: "You don’t always have that as a new mum. It was helpful for someone to ask me, 'How are you feeling? How are you dealing with these new emotions?'"
She said that the sepsis infection was picked up in time by doctors, and she was in "safe hands". But her baby daughter was ill and had to "learn to breathe on her own", saying it took time, but the staff were "amazing". She added: "We went every day. I got on with it and I had a lot of support from my family and friends, keeping me positive."
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Oti still found her scary experience "empowering" and seeing her husband become a dad has made her "fall more in love" with him. But, like all new parents, she is trying to adjust to the "exhaustion" of a newborn.
Speaking to Josie Gibson and Craig Doyle on Thursday's This Morning, Oti said: "It's a new level of exhaustion that you learn to work with but it is the most amazing thing ever what you wake up to in the morning and you see your little baby's face. And you are just like wow, I absolutely love you. I love motherhood, I love how it feels, I love that just new feeling of what I need to become to be strong for you and the gratitude that I have to actually have a baby girl."
She previously revealed that the couple had tried for "a while" to conceive, with the new mum first sharing her pregnancy news on ITV's Oti Mabuse's Breakfast Show in November. She hugged Marius, 41, as she told viewers they had been keeping "some good news" a secret.
And writing on Instagram, she told followers: "Our 'yes' year is getting better and better and so is our little family. We feel finally ready and excited to share our wonderful news. This is new for us scarier than swimming with sharks, jumping off cliffs or even swinging from bridges but the best news we could have ever ask for."