West End star Sophie Evans said her baby "looked like he'd been stung by a thousand wasps" following an emergency C-section. Rhondda-born Sophie described her birth story to fans on her Instagram and told how, even though it wasn't the ideal birth she had wanted, the whole process was "crazy and amazing."
Sophie and Wales rugby star Ellis Jenkins welcomed their baby boy Jack into the world on Friday, December 30. The actress and singer shared the happy news on her Instagram account a few days ago and also shared a sweet tribute to her husband Ellis.
After settling at home for a few days, Sophie decided she was ready to share her experience and described how the birth didn't follow her ideal plan but was an amazing experience. Sophie described how things started to change during an examination in hospital when she was in labour. You can get more celebrity news and other story updates straight to your inbox by subscribing to our newsletters here.
The midwife told her that her son was in a "face presentation" position. Sophie went on to describe how this meant the baby's face was making its way down the birth canal first, not the back of the head as was usual.
She said: "He was out in my arms and looking weird, he had been so compressed in my cervix from his face coming down face first, Google face presentation babies, but don't if you are squeamish, it will freak you out because the way he was coming down was just really not ideal and his lips, his head, his eyes, everything, he looked like he was stung by a thousand wasps."
She described how the position he was in "battered him" but went on to add that he got off lightly compared to some images she had seen of face presentation babies, adding that his swelling went down really fast.
Sophie also shared a sweet video of her and husband Ellis on their doorbell camera which shows them leaving their home as a two and later returning as a three. She joked: "Mad how they just let you take them home! We are loving having a new roommate. Like dad said, rent's due first of each month."
Telling her full birth story, Sophie described how she opted for a sweep on December 29 when she was 40 weeks plus 12 days pregnant. At the appointment the midwife said she was already 2cm, which made her feel "amazing and really positive that my body was doing it and going the right way." Sophie then described how a little bit of her waters went while she was being monitored.
She continued: "So when this happens, most hospitals I think have a policy that you need to kind of be seen within the next 24 hours and they really like to induce you because the risk of infection goes up, it is a very small amount but they have to tell you that. So we were booked in for 24 hours.
"That night we came home and mission was let's get these surges and contractions going, we went for a walk and I was having very mild irregular contractions but it was really, really positive. So I was like, ok, we are definitely going the right way and I went to sleep and they really settled through the night.
"Then, half past six in the morning on the 30th I was like these are coming now, regularly, got my app out to time it, got in the bath, and they were definitely getting more intense and frequent which was really exciting."
Sophie described how she was conscious that she had a 24-hour window to get things going before potentially needing help with an induction and was pleased that the contractions were becoming more intense. Her and husband Ellis made their way to the hospital for a scan to check the size of Jack, placenta function and to see how much fluid was left around him.
"So we go in and I was contracting properly, stopping in the corridors, people were going 'Oh are you ok?', and it was so exciting, and we had the scan once I was having them. He said 'his head is really low, everything looks good', this is so cool we are on the way!"
The couple then made their way to the labour ward where Sophie was examined by a midwife. It was at this stage the plan made a big change and things started to happen really quickly due to the fact the midwife discovered Jack was face presenting first and he had passed meconium.
"While she was examining me, I felt this massive gush and she was like 'oh that is the rest of your waters going', which felt really positive again. Then her face kind of dropped and I was like 'oh what's up', she said 'he has done a little poo', which I know is a bit of a problem but also, you can still have a birth that you want, and she said 'but I'm also not sure what I am feeling right now, I think it could be his nose and his hand'
"And I was like 'oh my god you can feel him', not realising how much of a situation we were actually in, and that is when the fun really started."
Sophie explained how a colleague joined the midwife and was told medical terms Sophie didn't quite understand but she remained calm through the whole situation. The midwife then told Sophie they needed to take her upstairs to have a C-section straight away. She was taken upstairs with her husband Ellis, but at this point all her belongings were still in the car. She added: "But as soon as she said it I was like, 'well, that just means I get to meet him, now' I didn't get stressed."
Sophie described how when she was being prepared for theatre she remained really positive and calm and was really reassured by the anaesthetist and consultant. She added: "Even though it wasn't the birth that I ideally wanted, the whole time throughout our hypnobirthing classes and things, I told myself, this would be ideal, but anything to get him out safe, not enjoyable but just like calm is the goal, and 100% everything we learnt through hypnobirthing is why I remained so calm.
"I knew this was always going to be a possibility, and that is fine I get to meet him."
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