By Sara Nathan and Ben Todd


Amanda Holden was recovering in hospital last night after coming close to death while giving birth to her second daughter.

The star – whose son was stillborn last year when she was seven months pregnant – was in a ‘critical condition’ for three days as she battled for life, it emerged yesterday.

Her second daughter, Hollie Rose, was born on Monday by Caesarean section at a London hospital. The baby weighed in at 6lb 1oz and is ‘healthy’, although she has been placed in a special care unit.

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Baby joy: Amanda Holden has given birth to a little girl named Hollie Rose, her second daughter with husband Chris Hughes

The announcement of the birth was delayed by 40-year-old Miss Holden’s family until her condition had stabilised yesterday afternoon.

A close friend said: ‘Amanda nearly died. It was a life threatening situation. There was a huge loss of blood.’

Miss Holden – who admitted herself to hospital on Monday morning – is expected to make a full recovery. The exact details of what caused her huge loss of blood have not been made public.

The Britain’s Got Talent judge has a history of difficult pregnancies.

When she went into labour with the birth of first child Lexi in 2006, doctors discovered Miss Holden had a low-lying placenta which had blocked the birth canal, making a natural birth impossible. It meant she was forced to have an emergency Caesarean.

'Critical' condition: The 40-year-old presenter is expected to make a full recovery after a difficult few days, her spokesperson said
Hollie’s birth this week is believed to have come a month early.

Last night Miss Holden was still believed to be in intensive care. Friends said they had no idea when she would be discharged from hospital.

Her husband, record company executive Chris Hughes, 38, decided yesterday afternoon that his wife was well enough for their baby’s birth to be announced.

In a statement, a spokesman for the couple said: ‘Hollie Rose Hughes was born on January 23, 2012. She is healthy and weighed in at 6lb 1oz but Amanda has been in a critical condition for the past three days. She is now stable and we expect her to make a full recovery very soon.

‘We thank you for respecting their privacy at this time.’

Miss Holden had planned to have her baby following the first round of auditions for Britain’s Got Talent. However, her dash to hospital on Monday forced her to pull out of filming in Blackpool.

Growing family: Amanda and Chris are already parents to daughter Lexi

It was the star’s fourth pregnancy. She lost a baby just weeks before the BGT finals in 2010, then last February her son was stillborn when she was seven months pregnant.

Doctors were baffled about what went wrong because the baby was described as ‘physically perfect’.

Miss Holden had to be sedated while she came to terms with the death and spent two days in hospital.

She had only made her pregnancy public at six months. Speaking about the ordeal later, she said: ‘It was without doubt the blackest period of my life. You never think that it might happen to you. I was an absolute mess. Poor Chris was too but he was amazing.’

Miss Holden also revealed that she developed a close friendship with a group of midwives who helped her through the shock.

Well wishes: Amanda's BGT co-star Simon Cowell sent a message

She said: ‘They have gone on to become personal friends.

‘They went above and beyond the call of duty, both personally and professionally.’

In August, she announced she was expecting again, admitting she was ‘thrilled and terrified all rolled into one’.

She gave up her role as Princess Fiona in the musical Shrek, but expected to be on BGT alongside Simon Cowell and new judges Alesha Dixon and David Walliams.

She even joked she would make Cowell godfather to the new arrival, saying: ‘He could set up a trust fund with stacks of money in it because it’s a girl – so she’ll need shoes.’

Most of all, Miss Holden said she was thrilled that her daughter Lexi, six, would get her wish of becoming a big sister.

A BGT spokesman said: ‘We extend our congratulations to Amanda and Chris on the birth of Hollie and wish Amanda a speedy recovery.’




source:dailymail