Kate Mara and husband Jamie Bell became parents when the actor welcomed their baby daughter a few weeks ago.
Now the 36-year-old has revealed the horrific labour she went through after developing a potentially harmful disease and a high fever.
The former House of Cards star had to undergo an emergency caesarean section when she was diagnosed with a liver condition called obstetric cholestasis.
This led to her being induced a month before she was due and therefore her plan of having a natural home birth.
Speaking on Dr. Berlin’s Informed Pregnancy Podcast, Mara said, ''I know a lot of people that have had C-sections that are not planned, that they don’t want to have happened. And most of those people, most of my friends, have said, ‘I just wanted the baby out. I was actually asking for a C-section’.”
She continued, ''I kept really calm for most of those three days (in labour) but right before I went in for the C-section, that’s when I sort of (felt) the devastation of it and the disappointment of not being able to experience a birth any way that I had hoped.''
She added, ''I was so scared to have the C-section, to have this surgery. I was genuinely terrified of what that meant and what could happen and all of these things, and then of course just being tired made me that much more scared, I think.”
After the labour, there was more drama to come - Mara needed a blood transfusion and that meant she couldn't see the baby straight away.
She revealed, ''I was like, ‘When am I going to stop shaking?’ thought my teeth were going to pop out, my jaw was clenched so tight from the shakes, and then I thought, ‘I definitely can’t hold her because I can’t move.’ My arms were locked.''
She continued, ''My husband brought her over to me and he kind of held her on my chest and it was amazing, but it was not at all what I imagined it would be. I could barely keep my eyes open to look at her.”
Mara also opened up about the fact that the little girl has her maiden name as a middle moniker.
We applaud Mara for being so open about her ordeal and we wish her all the best as she embarks on motherhood.
