MARNIE Simpson has revealed she struggled to bond with her newborn baby after a horrific birthing experience, which saw her lose two pints of blood and have numerous blood transfusions.
The 28-year-old was told she could have died after picking up an incredibly rare bacterial infection during the horrific birth to Rox- and four months later she is still not back to full health.
In an exclusive interview with The Sun Online, the Geordie Shore original revealed she was so ill after the birth she struggled to perform basic motherly duties like feed her baby and change his nappy.
The reality TV regular said: “I was in so much pain I was basically bed-bound for weeks on end.
“I couldn’t even change his nappy because I couldn’t stand. It was a struggled to feed him. It was so hard because I couldn’t do all the normal things a mum does for their baby.
“The doctor told me I had lost so much blood and my immune system was so low I could have died.
“I was told I had to rest at all times and no nothing to help so I could rebuild my whole immune system.
“I thought how can I rest when I’ve just had a baby?I couldn’t get out of bed I was in so much pain.
“I was so depressed. No one could fix it or make me better. I was stuck in bed in so much pain and it just wasn’t getting any better.”
After misdiagnosing her condition doctors finally discovered that a rare bacteria, which is highly resistant to antibiotics, was causing her chronic bladder pain.
Marnie explained: “I picked it up in hospital while I was giving birth.
“It could have been through the catheter or through the hands of hospital workers.
“I was getting treated with the wrong antibiotics for such a long time nothing got better.
“Not only was I really ill but I had just had a bad so my emotions and hormones were all over the place as well. It was horrible.”
Because of Marnie’s illness Rox’s dad Casey Johnson often took on the roles of mum and dad in the early weeks.
He also told how he also struggled to cope with his first child, at the aged of 24.
The former Union J singer said: “I made sure that even though Marnie was bed-bound she still bonded with Rox as much as she could.
“I would take him in and lay him next to her when she was almost too weak to hold him.
“It was really hard for me too and was obviously frustrating and annoying but even at the hardest times I knew it wasn’t Marnie’s fault.
“I was trying to cope with Rox and look after Marnie. So it was pretty tough. Especially throughout all the sleepless nights.”
But Marnie praised her boyfriend of nearly three-years by saying she couldn’t have got through her post baby troubles without him.
“Casey really stepped up and has been amazing,” she said.
“It has made me realise how important your health is. That’s all that’s really matters.
“It has also brought us closer together. I has been really hard but I think we could get through anything now.
“I’m now just basically waiting for the ring, but Casey says it won’t be for another year or two.”
While Marnie is still struggling to back to full health, Rox has been a dream baby.
Marnie said: “We’ve actually been really lucky and had a really good baby.
“He is lovely and amazing and more than I could ever have expected.
“It was me who was ill, not Rox. I can’t imagine what it would have been like if Rox had been sick.
“I don’t know how Gaz (Beadle) has been coping to be honest with all his kids problems.
“I am slowly on the mend. It has taken four months. I’m not 100 per cent and I’m still suffering with my bladder condition but not like before.”
In true reality TV style the traumatic 28-hour labour and birth will feature on the new series of Geordie OG’s.
Hands-on dad Casey was present throughout the birth and filmed the end TV footage on his mobile.
He said: “It was all filmed on my phone because we didn’t have the crew in there with us.
“I self-filmed it. We even got me cutting the umbilical cord which was incredibly special.
“It was an emotional experience but It looks really cool.”
Marnie seemed less enthusiastic adding: “We filmed as much of it as we could.
“But I was in so much pain it was hard to do.
“It was actually really emotional watching back. It was such a traumatic experience and such a horrible time.
“Even though we got Rox from it, so it was all worth it in the end, it was still a really scary time for me.
“To be honest I couldn’t watch it for weeks. It was too soon for me emotionally.
“The first time I watched the episode was last week.”
Geordie OGs premieres on Wednesday 26th February at 9pm, on MTV.
