Since her debut in 2002, Amerie has used her platform to develop a multifaceted career path that makes her not only a chart-topping artist, but a best-selling author and vlogger. In January, the singer revealed that she would be adding "mommy" to her list of accomplishments, and gave birth to her son, River Rowe Charles L. Nicholson, in May.
She recently released a video where she shared her birthing story for the first time, and detailed the complications she experienced during labor.The "One Thing" singer said that she had a vision for her birthing plan that did not include a C-section, but a grapefruit-sized obstruction from her past had other plans. In 2015, Amerie was diagnosed with a uterine fibroid that had been illusive to her until her doctor noticed a bulge above her pelvis. She said:
"I didn't even know it was there, which is quite unusual because it was almost the size of a grapefruit."
Despite her unwillingness to have surgery to get the fibroid removed, Amerie chose to go through with the procedure after hearing her doctor's warnings. She said that by keeping the fibroid, she would risk delivery complications if when and if she decided to conceive in the future. She continued:
"Because of the size and because fibroids get bigger when you're pregnant, it would get really uncomfortable and possibly cause early delivery."
To avoid any further health complications, the singer had a myomectomy the same year to have the fibroid removed, but the effects of her procedure lasted long after the surgery.
When she discovered that she was pregnant, doctors told Amerie that it would be incredibly dangerous to have a vaginal birth, which originally was an unsettling thought for the singer. The incision that was made to remove her fibroid made it impossible to give birth naturally without labor complications. After becoming better informed of the risks by her doctor, what was even more unsettling to the soon-to-be mother was the idea of her womb rupturing.
Her C-section was done 39 weeks into her pregnancy, and despite her original fears, went better than she could have ever imagined.
"He was like reaching out to me and it was the most amazing thing."
"He put his hand against the clear drape, and I had my hand there and he grasped my finger. He wrapped his hand around my finger. I'll never forget that for the rest of my life."
The new mother says that although her birth story is unconventional and nothing like she expected, it was worth every moment. Initially, like all mothers, Amerie had her worries about recovery and the baby's health.
"Our son was born 6 pounds and 12.8 ounces. So he was smaller, he wasn't too big. He felt so fragile. I was kind of looking forward to him gaining a little weight because I just felt nervous because he was so small."
She said that her C-section recovery was much easier than she expected and baby River is growing at a healthy pace. Amerie reminds us to stay up on our reproductive health because fibroids are sneaky bastards that can change our plans for good if we aren't careful.
To watch the full video, click here.
Featured image via Amerie/Instagram