Davina McCall credits daughter for helping with homebirth
When her contractions grew stronger and she was about to deliver her 10 lb, 2 oz. son Chester, now 14-months — at home, without the aid of painkillers — British TV personality Davina McCall drew strength from a surprising source: her 6-year-old daughter Holly. Davina recalls that it was Holly who gave her "a reason to be brave." Said Davina,
[Holly] helped me out with my breathing when I was in the birthing pool. We told her she could either go to school and tell everybody the baby was coming, or be there when the baby came out. She said she’d stay. She was so cute, stroking my hair and helping me through contractions.
Holly took a break mid-way through Davina’s delivery to watch Lazytown, but just having her nearby helped Davina stay focused.
She gave me a reason to be brave. It’s good to have someone there to keep it together for. He was a big baby – but I kept thinking of Holly and she gave me a lot of courage.
Click ‘continue reading’ for more highlights of the interview.
Davina admits that had she known Chester would top the 10 lb. mark, she would have been "petrified." Carrying a boy was quite different than her previous two pregnancies, which includes 4-year-old Tilly in addition to Holly.
For the first three months I was shattered but after that I felt amazing. I felt I looked better than I ever had done. I did feel sexier — I felt like a goddess with Chester. I don’t know if it’s boy hormones, if boys make women feel sexier?
Losing the baby weight with Chester proved to be more difficult than it was following the birth of her daughters, however. According to Davina, "it’s been a year of slow, gradual weight loss and exercise."
I’m not criticizing women who lose weight immediately – some genetically snap back into shape. I know a lot of women think I snap back, but I don’t. I do some clever dressing and sucking in.
A recovered drug addict, Davina knows someday she’ll need to address the issue with her kids, and it’s a conversation she says she won’t shy away from.
I won’t sit them down at seven and say, ‘This is the drug chat’ – it’s not necessary. I’ll wait till they ask. I still go to a weekly NA meeting and my kids know Mummy goes to meetings. At some point Holly will ask about it and I’ll explain honestly. One day I’m sure she’ll want to come with me.
The 40-year-old host of Celebrity Big Brother in the UK is adamant that that there are no plans to expand their family.
If I get pregnant it’ll be a glorious mistake, but I’m not planning on having any more.
Davina and her husband Matthew Robertson have been married since 2000.
Source: Mirror.co.uk
