Mira Sorvino’s “miracle baby”

"As soon as they placed him in my arms I knew it had all been worth it," Mira told People magazine. "He is my miracle baby. With everything that threatened this pregnancy and both of our lives, he came out of it completely unscathed - perfectly beautiful, healthy and wonderful."

Mira had suffered a placenta previa, where the placenta at least partially covers the cervix, which led to a nine-week hospital stay and complete bed rest. "I developed a blood clot due to all the inactivity and had to be anti-coagulated for months to prevent a pulmonary embolism," she said.

One of the hardest things for Mira was being separated from Christopher and their children Mattea, 4, and Johnny, 3. "I spent another two-and-a-half weeks at the hospital missing the children and my husband. Knowing what the separation was doing to the kids became almost unbearable," says Mira. "Prior to this nine-week hospital stay, I had only ever spent one night away from Johnny and Mattea."

And things didn't get easier when it came to the birth. "The baby was very big and he came a couple of weeks early so it took longer than we thought," says Mira. The placenta created problems again and although it was not blocking the baby's path as it had done for almost the entire pregnancy, it caused me substantial blood loss. Just as we began begging for a C-section, the situation turned round and the end of the birth was very easy."

Baby Holden is now settling in at home with siblings Mattea and Johnny. "My only challenge has been convincing them not to touch him and pet him while he's sleeping because they wake him up!" said Mira.

Congratulations to Mira and the family. MFM mums, why not share your exciting pregnancy and birth stories?