It’s been almost a year since Brooks welcomed her first child, a baby girl named Freeya and now the #OITNB star is reflecting on the experience, opening up for the very first time.
On Thursday November 12 in a chat with Katie Lowe during her podcast, the actress shared her birthing experience, opening up about delivering her daughter via C-section due to a health complication which put both her and her baby’s health at risk when her original plan was to have a natural birth.
“I ended up having to have an emergency [Caesarean] section because Freeya had meconium in her system, which is basically when the baby poops inside their amniotic sac,” said the 31-year-old. “So she was in distress and, therefore, we both could be in distress, and so we just had to make it happen.”
According to Brooks after doctors determined the baby was in danger, it was chaos trying to save the situation: “They threw an oxygen mask on my face and an IV in my arm,” Brooks says. “It was almost 10 people in a tiny room watching a monitor and telling me to stay calm,” she says, revealing that her daughter’s heartbeat was irregular just before labor. Brooks admitted to singing gospel songs to help get her through, Essence reports.
Thankfully with fiancé Dennis Gelin and her doula by her side, Brooks had a safe and healthy delivery.
On motherhood experience, Brooks is loving every moment, she tags the experience enlightening: “When I became a mother in November [2019], I felt like I knew myself on a deeper level than before, because suddenly I was imparting what I’ve learned and who I am to another human being,” she told Women’s Health. “And so that’s been really cool, too, finding ways to use my voice and share knowledge. I’m very hungry to get back to my acting work, but there’s also other types of work that I need to do.”
