Millie Mackintosh shares honest post about her struggles after c-section birth

Millie Mackintosh at the British Academy Film Awards in February 2019 (PA)

Millie Mackintosh has opened up about recovering from her caesarean birth saying the experience left her ‘fragile and exhausted’.

The 31-year-old reality star is currently pregnant with her second child, after welcoming her daughter Sienna in May 2020.

However, as the due date approaches, Mackintosh is reflecting on her first birth, and has spoken about her fears after struggling following the c-section.

Read more: Millie Mackintosh shares COVID experience that affected her mental health

Sharing a photograph of her baby girl on Instagram, she revealed she didn’t leave the house for a week as she recuperated with the help of husband Hugo Taylor, and a postnatal doula.

“I slowly started increasing the length of my walks but got carried away I did too much and ended up in bed with cramps and with heavy bleeding,” she wrote. “My advice is to listen to your body and take it very slowly, get as much help as you can so that you can rest and let your body heal.”

Millie Mackintosh and Hugo Taylor attend an afternoon tea event at LFW 2018 (Tim P. Whitby/Getty Images)

Speaking about the realities of her recovery, Mackintosh praised the use of adult nappy pants which she used before moving to cotton underwear with panty liners, while she needed to have her surgical dressing regularly cleaned and replaced.

Read more: The celebrities with babies born in lockdown

She also had to have injections to reduce the chances of blood clots.

Photos of Mackintosh in her postnatal underwear were also shared alongside the lengthy post.

“I see photos of other new mums who walk out of hospital on the same day and are off to the park post smiling selfies with their families and newborn and think it’s amazing, but my reality was very different,” she continued.

“I felt fragile, exhausted, emotional, self-conscious and in a state of shock for the first few weeks and it took me months to feel physically strong again. After 6 weeks I saw my obstetrician and a women’s physio and was given the all-clear to start exercising again, I started with Pilates and introduced lightweight training from about 8 weeks and slowly built [my] strength back up.

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“I am planning on having another abdominal birth and I’d love any advice on recovery and post c section care that I might not know about.”

Millie Mackintosh at a fashion event in 2019 (Kristy Sparow/Getty Images for Lancome,)

Her latest post is the latest in a growing line of messages about her experience with pregnancy and the recovery process.

Last month, she revealed she was four months pregnant with a second daughter with husband Taylor, whom she married in 2018.

Watch: Millie Mackintosh reveals the gender of her next child