AFLW star Moana Hope opens up on mental toll since giving birth

Moana Hope has lifted the lid on the mental toll taken since the complicated birth of her son, Ahi, in June. 

The former AFLW star, 34, says she has cried every day since her second child was born, such was the emotional turmoil surrounding his birth earlier this year.

Hope and wife Isabella Clastrom have a daughter, Svea, who Calstrom gave birth to back in 2020, and Hope says that there needs to be more discussion about what life looks like after birth. 

Former AFLW star Moana Hope has opened up on the mental toll of the birth of her son, Ahi

‘I think for me it’s really got me mentally, I think I’ve cried almost every day if we’re going to be real and honest,’ she told News Corp. 

‘Guess that’s part of it and the wave that I’m on. I wouldn’t change it and I love him and I’m in love with him and I don’t care about sleep that much.

‘It’s definitely something I didn’t think about. You think about the birth a lot and you think about the pregnancy a lot but you don’t think about what happens afterwards. 

‘Even though I watched Belle give birth you think you know, but you don’t know. I went in thinking I know what pain is like, pregnancy is like, I was so not understanding enough.

Hope gave birth to her baby son back in June but there were complications 

The 34-year-old says that she urged doctors to ‘save him’ after he struggled to breathe

‘You don’t know unless you go through it yourself. As much as I felt I was ready I was not ready. It was pretty crazy.’

Hope went through a 24-hour labour and there were concerns for Ahi’s health with his heart rate dropping. He was also under stress and needed help to breathe. 

‘Straight away I knew something was wrong, I didn’t even try to embrace him or enjoy it,’ she added.

‘I said fix it, something is not right. I already had a couple of emergency doctors in there. They took him away. This was really full-on and hard for me to go through — this is my body, it’s personal, it’s my area. It wasn’t until afterwards I was on a bed in stirrups, completely naked, cut, blood everywhere, then all of a sudden I’ve got 15 people in my room and I’m open to the world.

Hope says there needs to be more discussion about life after labour for expectant mothers

‘Do whatever you need to do but save him. I was looking over (they’re) working on him at the table and Belle was crying. Not only do I feel helpless, Belle is crying, so many people working. She just kept saying it’s going to be OK and it was about a minute to get him going and that minute felt like a lifetime.

‘Tell me something is right and then when I heard him make the smallest noise it was a bit of relief. They had him for three to five minutes, I was sitting there so concerned and worried.’

Once Ahi’s health was stabilised, Hope says that she experienced an outpouring of emotion.

‘Then it hit me, this is amazing, he’s beautiful and I love him,’ she said. 

‘It was all of those feels and I’m so grateful for all those midwives and doctors and the obstetrician.’