Jamelia talks having a baby in her teens, 20s, 30s and 40s and recovering from ‘traumatic’ C-Section
Jamelia has shared how it feels to have a baby in teens, 20s, 30s and 40s, describing motherhood as her "favourite responsibility and role".
The former Loose Women panellist, 42, said she believes there is "never a right time to have a child" but that she feels "so blessed" to have her four children.
“I was first pregnant as a 19-year-old, 25 when I had my second, third daughter I was 36 then I had my last daughter at 41, so for most decades of my life I’ve had a baby,” she told The Mirror.
“What I’ve come to know is there is never a right time to have a child. You are never prepared and never going to just float through it.
“Being a mum is my favourite responsibility and role. It’s such an honour to be a mother of four daughters and I feel so blessed.”
The star went on to reveal that having an age gap between her two youngest girls and her two oldest is “brilliant for babysitting”.
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Jamelia gave birth to her fourth daughter, Jream, at 36 weeks via an emergency caesarean in October last year, describing the experience as “incredibly traumatic”.
She says: “You’re conscious and any mum will tell you, that moment between them getting the baby out and hearing that first cry feels like an hour.”
Thankfully her daughter arrived safely but Jamelia was still in danger – the localised anaesthesia had a strange effect and left her gasping for air.
“I couldn’t breathe,” she recalls.
“I’m trying to alert the doctors, but I can’t breathe. It was scary, traumatic. It took 20 minutes for me to be able to breathe again on my own."
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Speaking after Jream’s birth Jamelia told Hello! magazine: “I’d only ever seen a C-section on the telly, and thought: ‘Oh well, at least it’s going to be straightforward and I’ll be out in five minutes.’
“There’s this idea of ‘too posh to push’ – that it’s the easier option. But I found it incredibly traumatic. And then you’re recovering from major surgery while looking after a newborn.”
Jamelia has previously described being a mother to four daughters as the "most incredible gift" and said she feels "fortunate" to have given birth in nearly every decade of her life.
"It’s been my greatest blessing to experience motherhood at all these different times and being able to learn at different stages of my life," she told Hello! magazine.
Last year, the singer revealed that she was supported by her teenage daughter as she delivered her fourth child in October.
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The mum-of-four was accompanied by her second eldest Tiani, 17, as she welcomed her newborn baby girl, Jream.
Speaking to Hello! magazine about having her daughter as her birthing partner, she said: "As selfish as it might sound, I wanted to share this experience with my girls.
"Seeing someone give birth should be a good contraceptive as well."
The TV star explained that Tiani and her older sister Teja, 21, tossed a coin to decide who would be beside their mother at the important family moment.
Meanwhile, her husband was at home with their daughter True, five.
Jamelia isn't the only star to have their children present at the birth of their siblings – including Sam Faiers who was kept company in labour by her four-year-old daughter.
Similarly, Jamie Oliver and his wife Jools allowed their teenage daughters to watch their little brother River arrive into the world.
Also keeping it a family affair, Goldie Hawn was present at the birth of daughter Kate Hudson's children.
