When asked how she as a mother relate to her character on 'Black Summer', the former 'Hart of Dixie' actress offers harrowing birth of Leo Thames who suffered from a serious heart defect.
- Apr 13, 2019
AceShowbiz - Jaime King has opened up about her difficult experience of giving birth to her son Leo Thames.
The "Pearl Harbor" star found out that her son, now three-years-old, suffered from a chronic heart condition when she was 33 weeks pregnant, and she admitted during an emotional appearance on Build Series NYC that his illness resulted in a harrowing birth.
"It was, legitimately, looking back, like a scene in the movie," the star recalled. "It makes me really emotional, watching it, because everybody went pale and my child was barely alive."
Leo is the star's second child with filmmaker husband Kyle Newman, 43. The couple also shares five-year-old son James Knight.
The "Hart of Dixie" actress went on to admit that she felt "vulnerable" in the hospital following a series of miscarriages, and became visibly emotional as she spoke in detail about the moment she thought her son might not survive.
"(Leo) crashed at birth and I didn't get to see his face and they took him and I didn't know if he was going to come back to life," the 39-year-old explained. "He had a serious heart defect called Transposition of the Great Arteries and I just heard, 'He's crashing, he's crashing, he's crashing, he's crashing,' and they, like, ran out of the room."
Despite the initial struggles, Jaime insisted that her son is now happy and healthy, and she told People that she now plans on using her platform to support and empower parents going through a similar ordeal.
"When you have a voice, you need to use your voice in a responsible way," the star reflected. "And I look at my child now, and he's so strong and amazing and vibrant. But when you're breastfeeding a baby with 67 lines in them, it's just a totally different experience."
