‘I was in survival mode’: Beyoncé on her twins’ traumatic delivery

Beyoncé has spoken for the first time about the traumatic delivery of her twins Rumi and Sir.

Speaking to Vogue for its September issue, Beyoncé revealed that she suffered with toxaemia (known more commonly over here as pre-eclampsia) before she gave birth to the babies in June of 2017. She weighed over fifteen and a half stone and had been on bed rest for a month before they were born, she said. "My health and my babies’ health were in danger, so I had an emergency C-section. We spent many weeks in the NICU." The experience of having a Cesarean changed her, she said. "I was in survival mode and did not grasp it all until months later. Today I have a connection to any parent who has been through such an experience. "After the C-section, my core felt different. It had been major surgery. Some of your organs are shifted temporarily, and in rare cases, removed temporarily during delivery. "I am not sure everyone understands that. I needed time to heal, to recover." Beyoncé also spoke about the pressure she felt to lose weight after giving birth to eldest daughter Blue in 2011. "I believed in the things society said about how my body should look. "I put pressure on myself to lose all the baby weight in three months, and scheduled a small tour to assure I would do it. "Looking back, that was crazy." "To this day my arms, shoulders, breasts, and thighs are fuller. I have a little mommy pouch, and I’m in no rush to get rid of it. I think it’s real."

The singer graces the cover of Vogue's September issue. You can read the full interview here.