It was only two months ago that Grammy-winning singer Melanie Fiona and her songwriter boyfriend, Jared Cotter, welcomed their first son, Cameron Lincoln Cotter, into the world. Of course, fans around the globe celebrated the birth of Fiona’s son and she herself seemed to be in bliss over her new bundle of joy. However, a new personal video from the singer reveals that she was tormented with shame and sadness over how her childbirth went down.
As previously reported, Fiona gave birth to Cameron on March 14 and she revealed the big news to the world with a touching Instagram photo of her new family.
“Forever in Love. Our Son, Cameron Lincoln was born on March 14th 2016. My life is greater with purpose… There is only Now. I am a Mother. What a great honour, What a miraculous gift. I am so thankful for this Love in my life… Surrounded by Kings…I will cherish you always. Thank YOU all so much for the love and support you have shown Jared and I throughout our journey to parenthood. We are ready… #Awake xo,” Fiona wrote.
In a new YouTube video titled “It’s Time To Tell The Truth,” the singer revealed that she was five days overdue when she went into labor and that she planned to have a natural birth with a doula and an OBGYN in the hospital, but was prepared to deliver at home.
Fiona explained that things were going well at first, although painful, but things started to go downhill and she developed preeclampsia, pregnancy complication characterized by high blood pressure and signs of damage to another organ system, during her labor, which is very rare.
That’s when doctors began to tell Fiona that she may not be able to have a natural birth.
“They started talking C-Section immediately and I said, ‘Absolutely not! I will labor here for 45 hours if I have to to get this baby out,'” Fiona said. “I just kept asking if Cameron was okay. How were his levels? And they just kept saying he’s a superstar, his levels are great, you don’t have anything to worry about, he is great.”
However, Fiona explained that doctors were highly concerned about her preeclampsia and they gave her an epidural to help ease the childbirth and allow her to rest. But when doctors realized that Fiona wasn’t dilating any longer, they feared that her preeclampsia would develop into eclampsia, which could result in seizures.
Fiona explained that Jared was the person who convinced her of how dire the situation was and why she needed to follow the doctor’s advice to get a C-Section.
“Jared had to come in one-on-one and look at me, take my hand, look me in the eyes and say, ‘I have to leave the hospital with both of you,'” Fiona shared as her eyes welled up with tears.
Despite her initial plans, Fiona agreed to get the C-Section and gave birth to a healthy baby boy. However, she explains in the video that life after giving birth was difficult because she didn’t recover as quickly as she expected and because she experienced mild post-partum depression.
“It didn’t hit me until I came home from the hospital and I was home with my baby. And I was looking at him and there was almost a moment of numbness where I felt like someone gave him to me and was like, ‘Here, here’s this baby. Take care of it.’ And I was like, ‘Okay, I guess that’s what I’m supposed to do.’ I was disconnected from the whole process because it just happened,” Fiona explained.
But her heartbreaking and vulnerable story doesn’t end there. Read why she felt betrayed and ashamed of her body, after the cut.
