Rochelle Humes has opened up about the backlash she has received for having three c-sections.
The television presenter revealed some of the comments left her feeling ‘really offended’.
Rochelle, 32, had caesareans for the births of the three children with husband and JLS singer Marvin Humes, 36; daughters Alaia-Mai, eight, Valentina, four and son Blake, 13 months.
“'I thought I was going to have a natural birth, I thought that was what I was supposed to do,” Rochelle revealed to Kate Ferdinand on her podcast My Little Coco.
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“It didn't happen that way, but I was OK with that. What I wasn't ready for was the negative connotations that come with having a C-section.”
She also reflected on some of the specific comments which made her feel like she ‘failed.’
“I've been in situations before where people have said, 'Oh, are you too posh to push?'
“I remember feeling really, really offended. Almost like I'd failed, like I couldn't do it properly.”
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Rochelle shared when she gave birth to her third child, Blake in October 2020, she intended to avoid using pain relief. But when her birth plan went a different way and he was delivered by caesarean.
“I learnt the hard way,” she revealed.
“I put this weird pressure on myself, then it went the opposite way.”
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“I'm noticing online more people talking about the way they delivered and some saying, ‘I had a natural birth’, and someone else saying, 'well, you had a vaginal birth – what I did was still natural'.”
Rochelle defended her decision, adding: “I brought my baby into the world, it just didn't go the way I thought.”
The Saturdays singer said her husband was incredibly supportive during the gruelling recovery process, which included helping Rochelle shower.
“'There were a lot of things I didn't know were going to happen. I didn't know I was going to have a catheter,” she reflected.
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“I knew I was going to have a sore tummy, but I didn't know walking would be a big deal for the first time, and getting to the toilet.
“Marvin was really helping me and he was showering me, and I thought, 'our relationship's taken a real turn here. I'm sure this is not what he signed up for.'"
She added: “He helped me get washed and I was thinking, 'this really doesn't sit right with me.'"
But her The Hit List presenter partner quickly reassured her.
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“He was so good about it," Rochelle explained. "He was like, ‘Rochelle, we're married. This isn't a thing, stop freaking out about it. I've forgotten about it already.'"
Featured Image Credit: Rochelle Humes/InstagramTopics: Celebrity, News, Parenting