Pregnant Gemma Atkinson was flooded with support as she shared an update while approaching the 38 week mark.
The former soap actress is due to welcome her second child, a son, with Strictly Come Dancing professional Gorka Marquez. The pair already share daughter Mia, 3, who was born in 2019 following a traumatic birth.
Gemma, from Bury, has been keeping her 1.8 million Instagram followers updated throughout her pregnancy. Now, at almost 38 weeks, she shared the six things she's been keeping in mind to keep her calm as the birth approaches.
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Posting a throwback photo of herself and baby Mia on Saturday (June 24), Gemma said she's received lots of messages from people asking if she was nervous for her second birth. "For those that don’t know, with Mia, my waters broke on the 2nd [of July] and I ended up needing an emergency C section on the 4th which 2hrs later resulted in a big postpartum haemorrhage," Gemma explained.
"Not exactly what we had in mind but from speaking openly about it I’ve met SO many couples who went through the same. It’s more common than I thought!"
The radio DJ went on to share she felt 'so much more calm and in tune' with her pregnancy this time around, and shared her tips in case it helped other mums and mums-to-be. One of them, she admitted, was 'a tad woo woo for some.'
Firstly, Gemma said she was reminding herself that her body and mind are capable and she has 'full trust' in them. Secondly, she is referring to contractions as 'surges' - and each one is a step closer to meeting her son.
The surges will last up to a minute at a time, 'and I can do anything for a minute!' Gemma adds. She continued that she's 'trusting the process' and will do whatever is safest for her and her son.
She is also reminding herself, should this birth mirror her previous one, that it's 'not her first rodeo' and she has had almost four 'beautiful' years with Mia.
Not only is Gemma trusting in her body and the medical professionals, but she's got faith in the stars too. Adding it may sound ' a tad woo woo' to some, she explained: "I believe little man’s birth date, plan and time has already been decided in the spiritual realm anyway. The physical side, the portal is me. But my Ángels & guides know how and when he’s arriving, and I feel comfort with them around me".
Gemma was flooded with support in the comments, with other mums sharing their second birth experiences in the comments.
One said: "You should be proud of yourself and know you can do anything!" while another added: "So happy that you are feeling confident and prepared". A third commented: "I love this mindset! Everything will work out how it’s supposed to work out".
Another said: "Everything will be absolutely fine and I agree everything is already mapped out" while another mum gushed: "So happy for your little family to become 4 can't wait to meet little man".
