The Block star Steph Ottavio has revealed she almost died during her very difficult labour.
Steph and her partner, Gian, announced that they had welcomed their first child, a daughter called Ilaria, on November 9.
Now, Steph has revealed further details about her challenging labour, revealing she underwent an emergency caesarean and a blood transfusion.
In an emotional Instagram post, Steph admitted she “wouldn’t be here” without the “incredible” practitioners who looked after her at Mater Hospital during the scary ordeal.
Sharing photographs of herself in the hospital, Steph said she had an emergency caesarean after being in labour for hours.
“After we laboured for hours, we made a quick decision to do an emergency caesarean as my temperature [was] rising rapidly,” she explained.
“It all happened so fast but in the final moments, they decided I needed to go under general anaesthetic. I look back at the theatre door, told Gian I loved him and closed my eyes.
“I woke up 12 hours later in the ICU like this with no baby next to me.”
Steph explained that she suffered from disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC), a rare but life-threatening condition where tiny blood clots form throughout the body.
“I ended up suffering from DIC. I had a mass transfusion receiving 15L of blood to help bring my clotting factors back up,” she continued.
“I haemorrhaged from my placenta and caesarean, and without the supply of blood from blood donors, the incredible practitioners that worked tirelessly on me, modern medicine and the technology available in hospitals today, I wouldn’t be here.”
In another caption, Steph emotionally described it as “one of the most challenging weeks” of her life, but shared her gratitude that her baby girl, Ilaria, arrived safely.
“One of the most challenging weeks of our lives but we left the hospital with an abundance of gratitude and perspective; and above all unwavering love,” she penned.
“We couldn’t have done any of it without the help of our parents, siblings, family and friends but also every determined doctor, specialist, midwife and nurse @materprivatehospital we are eternity thankful.”
On November 9, Steph and Gian took to Instagram to announce the birth of their daughter, Ilaria.
“✨ ILARIA OTTAVIO ✨,” they wrote in a joint point. “You have changed our lives forever.”
The couple had announced that they were expecting their first child together back in May.
Steph and Gian rose to fame on The Block in 2023, when they won a record-breaking $1.75m on the renovation reality show.
They memorably sold their house to bidder Adrian Portelli for $1.65million, and also took home an additional $100,000 in prize money for coming in first place.
