- Do YOU have a story? Email tips@dailymail
Oti Mabuse has admitted she is ‘very lucky’ her daughter survived after a ‘traumatic’ premature birth.
The Strictly Come Dancing professional, 34, revealed she welcomed her daughter in November with husband Marius Lepure, 41, but their baby was born prematurely with an infection and spent six weeks in intensive care.
The dancer also experienced complications after birth when she was diagnosed with sepsis.
Oti, who was born in South Africa, and Marius, who was born in Romania, feel very lucky that her daughter lived, because babies raised in their native country do not help children born very prematurely.
Oti began her difficult journey to motherhood and revealed that she harbors a lot of ‘guilt’ over her baby coming too early.
Oti Mabuse, 34, has admitted she is ‘very lucky’ her baby daughter survived after a ‘traumatic’ premature birth
The Strictly Come Dancing pro revealed she welcomed her daughter in November with husband Marius Lepure, 41, (pictured) but their baby was born prematurely with an infection and spent six weeks in intensive care
Speak with The mirrorshe said: ‘There were times when she wouldn’t eat, feeding her was very hard. In South Africa and Romania they don’t help children born as young as they are, so we were very lucky.’
Marius said: ‘I knew we couldn’t do anything better. I’ve seen babies where if it had been in Romania that week, they wouldn’t have saved the baby. We’re lucky.’
The dancer admitted that she was at ‘her lowest’ shortly after giving birth due to the condition her daughter was in.
Oti said: ‘The baby was sick. She couldn’t breathe on her own, she couldn’t eat on her own. She was very small. We couldn’t hold her. That was incredibly, incredibly hard. I cried for an hour.’
Oti has been incredibly open about her traumatic birth after explaining how she was doing Her daughter’s life was saved by the NHS after a terrifying sepsis scare.
She told me The sun on Sunday: ‘It helped when someone asked me: “How are you feeling? How are you dealing with these new emotions?”
‘My sepsis was discovered after birth, it’s not something that has been overlooked so I just want to clarify that as I read it so misinterpreted a while ago.
“My daughter had an infection when she came out and the doctors treated her. I didn’t have time to panic, we were just focused on her getting better.”
Oti, who was born in South Africa, and Marius, who was born in Romania, feel very lucky that her daughter lived, because babies raised in their native country do not help children born very prematurely
Oti began her difficult journey to motherhood and revealed she harbors a lot of ‘guilt’ over her baby coming too early
Oti has been incredibly open about her traumatic birth after explaining how her baby daughter’s life was saved by the NHS after a terrifying sepsis scare
She always felt that her daughter was in ‘safe hands’ because the doctors gave her the best possible treatment.
Oti added that the little one had to learn to eat and breathe alone, but admitted that the neonatal unit is a world she knows little about. She claimed the team did a “great” job.
She shocked fans when she announced she would be leaving Strictly in 2022 after seven years as doubles champion.
Oti won the Glitterball Trophy in back-to-back years with Emmerdale star Kelvin Fletcher and comedian Bill Bailey, leading many to believe the South African was set for a sensational hat-trick.
