Dani Dyer has opened up about the highs and lows of early motherhood - revealing she has been struggling at times since welcoming her son Santiago.
The new mother told listeners of her podcast Sorted With The Dyers that her birth didn't go as hoped - ending in an unplanned Cesarean section.
Dani said she felt "guilty" about the surgical delivery which left her feeling a "failure".
She told podcast listeners: "I had to have a caesarean in the end and I was crying about that."
The new mum explained: "I never wanted to have a C-section. I know they are very common and I know they happen but I never wanted one - that was never in my birth plan, so I started feeling like a failure.
"The baby didn’t want to come out, my waters broke and I was at five centimetres and he wasn’t dilating.
"I ended up having to have a c-section, it was an emotional day."
The 24-year-old explained she found the experience "scary".
Dani said: "I was scary, you're paralysed, I could not feel anything. It was scary for me.
"The recovery is hard, [her partner] Sammy really has seen everything. He was brilliant, I needed someone to laugh with.
"But I do not want women to worry about C-sections, don't feel guilty about it, that was my problem."
Dani also addressed her mental adjustment to being a mother, saying she had been tearful at times.
She said: "It’s been hard, the baby blues are real. It is incredible; your body goes through so much.
"You just want to cry, I’d look at him and cry, I think because you’re constantly thinking ‘Am I doing enough?’
“I’ve started breastfeeding and it’s hard, it’s difficult. You want to do everything right and I think that's why you cry."
Dani presents her podcast with EastEnders star dad Danny Dyer.
