Oti Mabuse, 33, had a great support network around her when she gave birth to her "unexpectedly premature" baby daughter in autumn 2023.
Despite describing the 16-hour birth as "so empowering," the former Strictly Come Dancing professional revealed that the experience quickly became "traumatic" after her newborn had to spend six weeks in critical condition.
© GettyOti, who announced their daughter's birth on Christmas Day, has opened up about how she and her fellow dancer husband Marius Iepure navigated the first few weeks of parenthood, heaping praise on her close friend Steph McGovern.
Speaking to Giovanna Fletcher on the Happy Mum, Happy Baby, she revealed her living citation changed in order to spend as much time as possible with her "really tiny" daughter who "we didn't hold for a week because she was still in an incubator."
© Joe MaherShe added: "We had been there every single day for six weeks. And my really, really good friend Steph McGovern had given us her flat to live in, so she gave up her home and said, 'You and Marius, please, you can use this place for as long as you want'. Shout out to Steph, she was absolutely amazing. So we were able to have a home and not be far from the hospital."
The couple normally reside in London, and judging by previous photos, their house features a spacious living room, a home gym and an outdoor terrace.
© InstagramAfter spending two nights overnight at the hospital caring for their six-week-old daughter, which Oti jokingly nicknamed "a sleepover," the couple were able to return home for their first family Christmas.
"The house didn't feel like a home," Oti said, referring to the weeks before they were able to return home with their newborn. In order to make the occasion special, she said her husband had put effort into decorating the house, while they were joined by her sister Motsi Mabuse and her parents, who had flown over from South Africa.
"Marius had completely turned the house into a Christmas nutcracker house," she said.
Oti previously shared a video of her family dancing and laughing as they set up their festive table of food positioned in front of a television, a fireplace and a built-in unit. "This year was different for so many reasons," she hinted in the Instagram caption, but said: "We had the best company love them so so much."
After describing her mother as her "absolute rock" and "warrior" during the podcast, noting that she helped out with a lot of the washing and housework, Oti went into more detail about her supportive family on social media.
© InstagramShe shared a photo of her parents alongside a gushing message that read: "We are a very close family but we have certainly grown closer since she’s arrived. They’ve dropped everything they were doing, @motsimabuse cancelling their vacation plans to be by our side, nonstop phone calls from @phemelom I am so grateful to have my family.
"Mom especially - I couldn’t do this without her we fight and laugh about it but she cooks, cleans, washes, helps watch the little when we work and forgets that it’s our baby not hers. But she is super mom and I hope one day to be a fraction of the mother she is."
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