Brie Bella didn’t expect her labour to be so painful.
The 34-year-old former wrestler welcomed daughter Birdie into the world in May after a nine-hour birthing process, and she had to have an emergency C-section because she "couldn’t handle the pain" of a natural birth.
She said: "It was the complete opposite of what I expected. I was 10 days late and had to be induced. I thought I could labour naturally, but after nine hours, I couldn’t handle the pain.
"I pushed for three hours straight and couldn’t get Birdie out.
"After 21 hours of labour, it ended in an emergency C-section. Birdie had a 14-inch head. Even though it wasn’t the birth experience I had in mind, I’m so happy Birdie came into this world safely."
Brie and her husband, fellow retired wrestler Daniel Bryan, decided on the name Birdie because they wanted to give their little one a "nature-inspired" moniker, and the 36-year-old star – whose was born Bryan Danielson – was keen for her name to begin with B.
She said: "My husband’s only request was that we name all of our children with B names.
"His whole family are Bs and I’m a B, so he really wanted our kids to be Bs. From there, we wanted a nature-inspired name and that’s how we decided on Birdie. Her middle name is Joe after my grandfather who meant the world to me."
Brie paid tribute to her significant other – who she married in 2014 – admitting the pair have been sharing the load she welcoming Birdie into the world.
Speaking to Mini magazine, she added: "I honestly couldn’t do it without Bryan. Every week, we sit down and come up with a plan of how we can take care of Birdie and thrive in our careers. Teamwork is everything."
Brie Bella unexpectedly ‘painful’ labour
