Ben Foden and wife Jackie welcome baby girl after complications during birth

ben foden wife jackie welcome first child baby girl
(Image credit: Getty)

Rugby player Ben Foden and his wife Jackie have welcomed a baby girl.

The couple took to their respective Instagram pages to announce the lovely news, sharing gorgeous photos of their new little one.

And the parents even revealed their little one’s adorable name!

Farrah Abra Foden, 5/20/2020,’ new mum Jackie wrote alongside the post.

6lbs 12oz, 19.5 inches of pure adorable alien old man cuteness We love you so much little one’.

A photo posted by on

Dad Ben shared the same sweet photo to his own Instagram page, revealing that the little one came along three weeks earlier than she was expected.

And new mum Jackie went on to open up about complications she had during the birth of the couple’s little one, taking to her Instagram stories to speak about her experience.

Opening up to her eight and a half thousand followers, Jackie wrote, ‘So with an original due date of June 12, a few weeks ago I developed cholestatis, which is an elevation in liver enzymes or something.

I was getting super itchy and blood work showed concerning levels, and it was decided I needed to induce at 37 weeks which is technically considered term’.

The new mum then went on to explain he complicated labour, writing, ‘After 24 hours of labor, I wasn't dilating, and she needed to be sectioned, so mom and Mark (my stepdad) scrubbed up and had her out in 30 mins.

MORE: Ben Foden films wife Jackie Belanoff Smith in labour

(Ben cut the cord which turned out to be super short, which is probably why she wasn't coming down naturally and helping me dilate).

‘She had a slight fever, probably from my own developing fever, so she was put in the nicu as a safety precaution. She’s doing INCREDIBLE and I see her every 3 hours for feeding’.

Jackie then spoke about how her little one is doing, writing, ‘I am so in love with this little blessing, Ben has brought such joy and happiness into my life in only a year, and I have never felt more lucky in my life than in these moments.

‘Lastly, I'd like to say thank you, from the bottom of my heart, to my mother, sharon, my PA for this birth and my stepfather, mark, my OB, for taking such incredible care of us every step of the way, for helping us through this difficult delivery, for bending over backwards every single day’.

The new arrival comes just months after Ben and Jackie tied the knot in a surprise ceremony back in August.

A photo posted by on

Ben took to his Instagram page to share lovely photos of the couple’s special day, revealing that his ex-wife Saturdays singer Una Healy, who he split from back in July 2018, had given ‘her blessing’ for the nuptials.

Ben and Una share eight-year-old daughter Aoife and five-year-old son Tadhg together – we’re sure the siblings are delighted to have a new little half sister!

Big congrats to the whole family on their exciting news!

Aleesha Badkar
Lifestyle Writer

Aleesha Badkar is a lifestyle writer who specialises in health, beauty - and the royals. After completing her MA in Magazine Journalism at the City, the University of London in 2017, she interned at Women’s Health, Stylist, and Harper’s Bazaar, creating features and news pieces on health, beauty, and fitness, wellbeing, and food. She loves to practice what she preaches in her everyday life with copious amounts of herbal tea, Pilates, and hyaluronic acid.