Image: Instagram/@katarinarodri
Katarina Rodriguez opened up about the anxiety she had been experiencing weeks before giving birth, disclosing how her mind “went somewhere dark and scary” during the holiday season.
The Miss World Philippines 2018 titleholder spoke about this as she recalled how she spent New Year’s Eve battling pre-labor anxiety, through her Instagram page on Wednesday, Jan. 11.
“Often I see and take part in conversations about postpartum depression, however on [New Year’s Eve] I experienced something I never thought I’d go through. My mind went somewhere dark and scary,” she said.
“Although my first birth experience was amazing, I had/have been having anxiety and fear of the labor to come,” she said. “There were many things triggering me but I couldn’t distinguish what they were.”
Even when her child is “fine and healthy,” Rodriguez, whose due date is Jan. 19, eventually decided to stay in the hospital as she “felt safer being there.”
“My mind was spiraling to so many unnecessary thoughts and I felt like my vision was clouded, literally and figuratively. I had never felt fear at this caliber before,” she continued. “I was just so scared to give birth again.”
Rodriguez pointed out how she somehow overcame her fear after the baby in her tummy “comforted” her and “made her feel secure.” She also thanked the mothers who reached out and put her at ease by sharing their experiences.
The beauty queen then reminded other moms who suffer from the same fears that they are not alone while encouraging them to be open about their struggles and to “rise above [their] fears.”
Rodriguez was cheered on by her fellow expectant mother Iza Calzado who sent “love and lots of good energy” via the comments section.
Image: Instagram/@katarinarodri
Rodriguez announced in October that she’s expecting her second child, a baby girl, with her partner Niño Barbers, through a pictorial inspired by the music video of pop star Britney Spears’ “Oops!…I Did It Again.” The couple welcomed their firstborn Quino via water birth delivery in 2021. /ra