Married at First Sight star Jamie Otis is opening up about her "very, very painful" home birth, with husband Doug Hehner her a "superwoman" for enduring a natural delivery of their son.
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"We're exhausted," Doug recently told Entertainment Tonight, adding that Jamie managed to deliver a "nine-pound baby" at home with no epidural or anesthetic.
"Nine pounds, four ounces!" Jamie interjected. "I'm taking credit for every single ounce!"
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Jamie's contractions and her eventual delivery of son Hendrix Douglas Hehner, who was born on May 13, were shown during Wednesday night's episode of Married at First Sight: Couples Cam on Lifetime.
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Very intimate footage aired of Jamie moaning and crying in bed before moving to a bath tub she and Doug had set up in their bedroom. As Jamie cried out in agony, Doug supported his wife helplessly and told the cameras he had never seen her in so much pain before.
"Jamie was amazing," Doug told ET. "She's now superwoman to me. Really, really incredible."
Jamie and Doug, who married as complete strangers on the debut season of Married at First Sight in 2014, said they never planned on having a home birth for their second child.
"Having a baby in the hospital turned out to be way more risky than having a baby at home," Doug explained.
"If it is safe to have a home birth for us, why would we want to take up a bed where somebody that may be sick should be there? No nurse should have to waste their protective gear on us."
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Jamie was not only worried about contracting coronavirus in a hospital, but she feared her vulnerable newborn son would be at risk as well.
Jamie therefore sought the help of a midwife in April and, once she agreed to a home birth, hoped there would be no complications in giving birth.
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It took more time for Doug to come around to the idea given he feared for his wife and child's safety and health.
Jamie admitted her experience was far different from when she had delivered daughter Henley Grace in August 2017 in a hospital.
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On natural childbirth, Jamie shared, "I was like, 'Women have been doing this for years! This is going to be fun, this is going to be okay.' [But] it was very, very painful to be quite honest."
Jamie added, "To be able to feel every little bit of him you know moving inside me still kicking as he's coming out like, I mean I could feel everything."
Jamie, however, called it a "very miraculous experience" to give birth in such a way.
"When I held him, it was just the most amazing feeling, like we really bonded...Not gonna lie though, it was very, very painful," she explained.
The latest episode of Married at First Sight: Couples Cam ended on a disturbing note after Jamie gave birth. Her son wasn't crying after his birth and apparently had fluid in his lungs, and the color of his skin appeared to be blue.
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Jamie screamed out of desperation for her son to be nursed back to good health.
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However, evidence on Instagram shows Jamie, Doug and Hendrix are doing just fine now.
After suffering through multiple miscarriages, Jamie and Doug were thrilled to announce in September 2019 they had Baby No. 2 on the way. Two months later, Jamie and Doug revealed they were expecting a baby boy.
The couple initially announced Hayes as their son's name in April, but they changed his name to Hendrix once they were able to meet him, hold him and see his face.
Following their stint on Married at First Sight's first season, Jamie and Doug co-starred on Married at First Sight: The First Year, a spinoff which continued to follow the two MAFS Season 1 couples who opted to remain together during their first year of marriage.
Jamie and Doug also later starred on Married at First Sight: Jamie and Doug Plus One, their own spinoff which premiered in December 2017.
Jamie now serves as the host of Married at First Sight: Unfiltered, the show's post-episode discussion show that also airs on Lifetime, and she and Doug often appear on Married at First Sight: Couples Couch, which features former MAFS couples offering commentary on encore broadcasts of the show.
Married at First Sight: Couples' Cam, which features raw, self-shot footage of Married at First Sight's successful couples from the past 10 seasons, currently airs on Wednesday nights at 8PM ET/PT on Lifetime.
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