“I was so close to losing her”
Actress Priyanka Chopra and her husband Nick Jonas have opened up about their scary NICU experience after her daughter spent 100 days in the unit.
In a recent interview with Today, Chopra (40) said when she learned that her daughter Malti would be born early, she leaned on Nick for support.
She said: “I remember he just held me by my shoulders, and I said, ‘Just tell me what to do, because I don’t know what to do.
“And he’s like, ‘Just get into the car with me.’ And we drove to the hospital. She was born, and from the moment she took her first breath to now, she’s never been without one of us, ever”.
The star’s daughter was born via surrogate in January 2022. Following her early birth, Malti was admitted into intensive care and spent 110 days in hospital.
Chopra revealed that her daughter spent some time at the Rady Children’s Hospital in La Jolla, California, but was then moved to the NICU at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles.
She said herself and Nick would take turns spending time in the hospital with their then newborn so that she was never left alone.
The actress also opened up about how she was physically struggling at this time.
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She lights up their world.
In the interview she said: “I don’t think it was our test. I think it was her test.
“I realised very, very early that I did not have the luxury to be scared or to be weak, because she was scared and weak. And I had to be her strength as her mom.
“I was so close to losing her so many times that she can get away with anything and I just want to see her happy. I want her to be the happiest.
“She’s a super smiley, happy baby, and that’s all my goal is—to see her joyous. Every time she smiles, it lights up my world, and that’s all I want to do”.
Chopra said she was frightened when the couple could finally bring their daughter home from the hospital.
She revealed that she couldn’t sleep for days worrying about if her baby was okay at home.
There was no heart monitor at home which scared the new parents.
The star said she would wake up every couple of minutes just to check on baby Malti – and it went on for weeks.
Since bringing their baby home, Priyanka and Nick have regularly spoken about their difficult experiences.
In May of last year, the couple took to Instagram to reveal that their baby girl was sick for a long time.
They wrote: “On this Mother’s Day, we can’t help but reflect on these last few months and the rollercoaster we’ve been on, which we now know so many people have also experienced.
“After 100 plus days in the NICU, our little girl is finally home”.
