Greg Rutherford has spoken of his heartache after his fiancée Susie is rushed to hospital after their baby "stopped moving".
The retired British field and track athlete, who is due to become a dad for the third time, admitted he "almost cried" when doctors found their baby's heartbeat and she kicked.
But it has been a worrying few days for the Olympic long jumper, 34, as he took to social media to update his fans on the stress of pregnancy as he revealed mother and baby are now "doing fine".
The worried dad-to-be uploaded a photo of Susie laid on a hospital bed ahead. of her due date, hooked up to a monitoring machine, and gave thanks to his followers for their support.
He added, 'Everything really is ok, baby’s fine, Susie’s fine and we’re just really grateful we could be seen so quickly and reassured. The NHS are under so much stress and strain at the moment but we couldn’t have felt more looked after, even when we had to show up close to ADAU closing time (which we kept apologising for I promise!)'
Most women begin to feel their baby move between 16 and 24 weeks of pregnancy, and the movement is typically described as a kick, flutters, swish or roll. There is no set number of normal movements. A baby will have their own pattern of movements that mothers-to-be should get to recognise.
The NHS website states that expectant mothers should call their midwife or maternity unity ASAP if they notice their baby moving less than usual or changes, which is why Greg and Susie took action.
Greg Rutherford explained, 'This is our third baby so we know this sort of thing happens and we used every trick in the book to get some movement going but sometimes you just have to admit defeat and accept professional help. Just looking forward to having her here now. Not long to go!'
The couple is already parents to sons Milo, six, and Rex, three, and they announced their third pregnancy in December and also shared a picture of the ultra sound scan.
He first took to Instagram on Thursday night to alert fans to his concerns over their baby. He wrote on his Instagram story, 'So last night was stressful. After a busy day of tidying and clearing Susie suddenly realised she hadn't felt the baby move in a while.
'We went through all the steps to try and make her move and nothing happened. The worry was caused by the fact that normally she doesn't stop moving! We jumped in the car and headed to the hospital. They found the heartbeat and then in typical fashion, she kicked!
'This apparently made Susie feel like a weather person though so silver linings.'
Greg Rutherford later recalled the terrifying incident, and added, 'I almost cried when the heartbeat was found. The stress of being pregnant never gets any easier.'
