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Jamie Otis Describes Giving Birth Unmedicated Amid the Pandemic: ‘It Was Rough, Barbaric’ (Exclusive)

Baby bliss? Jamie Otis revealed what it was really like having an unmedicated birth for her son, Hendrix, one month after his arrival.

Related: Celebrity Babies Born During the Coronavirus Pandemic: Pics

“The only reason why I did the unmedicated home birth was because of the pandemic, the world right now,” Otis, 34, told Us Weekly exclusively on Wednesday, June 17, while promoting her partnership with Align and their launch of a colic relief product. “I just felt like it was safer, because I had a low risk pregnancy, to be able to just offer that home rather than go into the hospital or like most sick people are going. And man, it was going to be painful.”

She explained that although she knew what was coming, having had daughter Henley in 2017 and being a labor and delivery nurse herself, without the meds “it was rough.” On top of that, the entire thing was filmed.

Jamie Otis and Hendrix
Jamie Otis and Hendrix Courtesy of Jamie Otis/Instagram

The Married at First Sight alum continued, “Barbaric is a great word, having no control over yourself. Like, I don’t even know what I was saying. I’m, like, if there’s some kind of bleeps, I’m sorry.”

The mother of two prepared for her son’s natural birth and said that although it “almost seems foreign to us” based on the frequency of hospital births using an epidural, “it’s really natural to have a baby.”

Despite the pain that came during her little one’s arrival, the Wifey 101 author noticed a difference between how quickly she bonded with her son during the home birth vs her daughter’s hospital one.

Jamie Otis Recalls Rough Unmedicated Birth Amid Coronavirus Pandemic
Jamie Otis Gregory Pace/Shutterstock

Related: 'Married at First Sight' Babies

“I had him and I looked at him and I was instantly in love and I didn’t have that type of bond or experience with Henley,” she told Us. “So I mean it’s worth it. It’s worth all the pain and, like, you know, all of that, just to be able to have that overwhelming sense of love for your baby.”

The former Bachelor contestant added: “I wish I could have had that with my daughter. And obviously I love her. I mean, sorry, Henley for watching this later on in life. I love you. I loved it from the moment I saw.”

Otis, who shared both children with husband Doug Hehner, shared photos of her water birth earlier this month. “This absolute hardest, but more MIRACULOUS & rewarding thing I’ve ever done is give birth to my baby unmedicated,” she wrote via Instagram on June 9.

Related: Celebrities Who Gave Birth at Home

The New York native announced her son’s arrival on May 13, writing, “He’s HERE!”

The couple later announced they decided to switch their baby boy’s name from Hayes to Hendrix upon meeting him.

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