09 September 2024
Newsdesk
Fleur East was back on the radio this morning as she returned to the Hits Radio Breakfast Show. Having had seven months off the airwaves after giving birth to baby Nova, Fleur came back with a bang sharing her dramatic birth story with listeners for the first time. A tale of saucepans, swearing and classic Whoopi Goldberg movie, Sister Act!
She revealed: ‘So I started getting some contractions and I was in the bath, just breathing, sitting in the bubbles, loving life and measuring the contractions. I knew something was happening, so I upgraded from the bath to the birthing pool which was downstairs in the living room and Marcel was filling it up using different saucepans, boiling water on the stove and bringing them in – we took it old school!
I was like ‘this is great, baby is going to be here any minute now’ then after five hours I got out of the pool, my midwife examined me, and I was 2cm dilated – that’s nothing! My face dropped and the midwife left, saying she’d come back when something started happening! So, I was there with Marcel and my Auntie Tina, who happens to be a midwife and was also my birthing partner, we were watching movies, all the classics - White Chicks, Sister Act and then things started to ramp up…
I was lying in my birthday suit on the floor when the midwife came back, and I was in agony. I started screaming, I started swearing and I never swear! I was grabbing my Auntie Tina’s face, rolling around the floor… I went through four gas and air cannisters before they said you need to push.
They tricked me into getting into a squat by putting [Fleur’s husband] Marcel on the floor and telling me to straddle him – they knew what they were doing! – so little baby Nova came into the world on my living room floor, on top of my husband!’
Marcel took some time out from looking after Nova to message the show telling Fleur: ‘I just wanted to take a moment to wish you luck for today. It’s been an amazing seven months - having a newborn is not easy but we figured it out and you’ve been so inspiring. I’m so, so proud of you, go out there and have fun, enjoy yourself and I’ve got this! I’m going to try my best to make sure Nova is OK every morning so have a great day today.’
And Marcel wasn’t the only man in Fleur’s life wishing her luck today with former Strictly partner Vito Coppola – or Uncle Vito as he’s now known – also calling in to wish Fleur luck and a ‘happy coming back to Hits Radio!’
