Kate Ferdinand has shared an emotional video about how her daughter suffered from congenital pneumonia after she was born.
The 32-year-old, who is married to retired football legend Rio Ferdinand, posted a video of the first difficult hours of daughter Shae’s life.
Shae was born in July and spent some time in the special care unit, as medics were worried about how much oxygen she was getting.
Congenital pneumonia usually impacts babies in the first 24 hours of life. It is often caused by an infection in the foetal fluid and does pass with treatment.
In the new Instagram clip, Ferdinand is seen in tears as she sits in a hospital bed without her baby.
“I could just tell they thought there was something wrong,” she said. “She’s not taking in the right amount of oxygen so she’s gone to the special care unit.”
Her husband Rio, 44, adds: “You don’t ever think about the negatives, you don’t think about what can go wrong, you don’t ever come into a hospital thinking that your first night is gonna be your baby alone, on another ward.”
The footballer says his older children from his marriage to late wife Rebecca Ellison were keen to see pictures of their new half-sibling – but that he didn’t want to worry them with pictures of Shae covered in wires.
He says: “The kids are saying: ‘Where’s the pictures? Send pictures.’ They’re all excited, but I don’t want to send the first picture of the baby with all the wires.”
Ferdinand then adds: “I’m being really strong, but if I talk about it I will cry because I just want her here now.”
The former TOWIE star penned an emotional caption to go with the post.
The star – who has a podcast called Blended about families that come together after separation or death – wrote: “After all your lovely messages of encouragement I’ve finally plucked up the courage and will be sharing our birth story on @blended’s new YouTube Channel over the weekend.”
The couple – who married in 2019 – also share a son called Cree, who is three. The couple are also parents to Lorenz, Tate and Tia, who are Ferdinand’s three children from his previous marriage to Ellison.
Ferdinand has previously spoken about how “frightened” she was after Shae was born with the condition.
Taking to Instagram, the former reality TV star wrote alongside several photos: “Ten weeks of being in our little [bubble] getting to know my gorgeous little girl and adapting to life with five kids.
“Thank you for all checking in on me … we are both well, although she made quite the entrance into this world and gave us a fright being born with congenital pneumonia.”
She continued: “Thankfully she recovered quickly but those first few days without my baby have really made me want to soak up every moment with her.
“I’m completely obsessed. So many ups and downs but I’m trying to get used to our new way of life and into a little routine (kinda).
“We did actually record some of our hospital stay but I’ve been a little anxious to share it as emotions are high. Maybe I’ll pluck up the courage soon. I hope you’re all well and thanks for bearing with me.”
