The path to becoming a mum was not a smooth one for This Morning’s Sharon Marshall.
The Emmerdale scriptwriter, now 47, endured seven IVF attempts and two miscarriages before her “miracle” baby daughter was born.
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But she now reveals that, while she was pregnant with Betsey, she was forced to confront her worst fears – that the baby she’d waited so long for might die.
In an interview with The Sun Online, Sharon reveals she woke up covered in blood during her pregnancy and was rushed to hospital terrified she was losing her baby.
Six months into her pregnancy, Sharon describes how she woke up bleeding in the middle of the night.
She said: “When I saw the blood, it put the fear of God into me.
“My blood pressure was massively high and I thought I was going to have to give birth months earlier than expected.”
Luckily her partner Paul Fletcher rushed her to hospital where she spent weeks under close watch.
Medics were eventually able to control the bleed and Sharon carried her baby full-term before giving birth to a healthy little girl who she called Betsey.
Due to her struggles to conceive, Sharon was left “convinced something was going to go wrong”.
She added: “Until Betsey was actually put in my arms and I heard her let out the most almighty yell, I always felt like someone was going to say it’s all going to be taken away from me.”
In a heartbreaking detail, Sharon also revealed she’d never allowed herself to buy anything for the baby until she’d given birth.
She believed looking at baby clothes in a shop would “jinx it”.
Thank you so much for all your lovely messages yesterday. Here is beautiful Betsey. Life is just brilliant. Sharon and Paul xxx pic.twitter.com/h9gNOL6pYO
— Sharon Marshall / insta: sharonjmarshall (@Sharontweet) July 11, 2018
She also told the website that she kept the ordeal a secret from everyone, until a baby segment on This Morning led her to confide in Amanda Holden.
“She was wonderful actually,” Sharon admitted. “She was so good with me and was the one who encouraged me to go to counselling to get some help.”
She now wishes she’d been more open from the start.
Admitting she still checks Betsey is breathing several times a night, Sharon has now teamed up with the British Red Cross ahead of this Mother’s Day to encourage parents to learn lifesaving first aid skills.
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