Gemma Atkinson has shared her decision to hire a private midwife for support during her pregnancy.
Former Hollyoaks actress Gemma, 38, is expecting her second child with her fiancé Gorka Marquez. The couple are already proud parents to three-year-old Mia.
Following the birth of her daughter, Gemma revealed she had a difficult childbirth and almost died as she started haemorrhaging in labour and her daughter's heart rate began to drop.
Now, the Strictly Come Dancing star has taken measures in her pregnancy as she feels she needs to be 'monitored more
Gemma, however, insisted she fully backs the nurses strikes and revealed she will be giving birth in an NHS hospital.
As she posted a video of herself having an ultrasound scan with her private midwife on her Instagram story, she explained the decision in a lengthy caption below.
She wrote: "This time we chose @private_midwives to oversee my pregnancy.
"I was actually recommended them by @BrookeLeviVincent when we were having a chat about life on a long train journey. I cannot rave about them enough!
"Rach is available on the phone for me at any time for a quick chat or msg or any questions I have. She also comes to out house every 3 wks and checks me and baby and talks me through what stage I'm at." [sic]
Gemma continued: "i have regular bloods and urine checks and even any questions Gorka has, she explains in detail to him."
Sharing her decision behind getting a private midwife, Gemma wrote: "I love our NHS but I know how stretched they are and with the strikes still happening I felt uneasy at the thought of history repeating itself with my pregnancy and not enough staff to help. (BTW, I fully support their reasons for striking and they should absolutely be paid a hell of a lot more for what they do!)
"Our baby will be born at an NHS hospital but my pre and post care will be done by Rach. Last time I was told Mia was going to be a big baby and she was absolutely tiny so this time I felt I needed and wanted monitoring more closely.
"I'll be having a lot more scans this time keeping a close eye on baby's size (so far everything for baby and me results wise are spot on and as expected) [heart emoji]."
Gemma then revealed she is starting to think about where she will welcome her second child as she penned: "Today we discussed birth options and locations. Rach will be with me in labour whichalready [sic] is a comfort. Any expectant mum to be will know the worry is always at the back of your mind the minute you find out your wonderful news".
It comes weeks after Gemma announced she and Gorka were expecting their second child together.
She tweeted: "Impossible to hide my belly any longer. I’ve officially 'popped.'
"Our baby boy will be joining our family later this year.
"We feel so incredibly blessed and Grateful to be on this journey again. Mia is absolutely thrilled! Although we may need to do some negotiating on names, as so far she’s adamant he’s going to be called Barbie."
