Olivia Bowen calls ambulance after suffering from mastitis as she reveals she suffers from crippling health anxiety following the ‘traumatic’ birth of daughter Siena

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Olivia Bowen has revealed she called an ambulance to her home after developing mastitis on Monday.

This common and often painful condition happens when the breast feels hot, swollen, and tender, usually because a milk duct is blocked.

This condition is most often seen in women who are breastfeeding. The NHS states it typically doesn’t require medical attention and isn’t spread from person to person.

The former Love Island star, 30, shared a photo on Instagram of herself in bed, revealing she was up all night in pain and felt like she might faint.

She explained that she called paramedics after she started ‘spiralling’ due to her health anxiety. 

As a new mom, I totally get how overwhelming things can be! Since my little Siena arrived, I’ve been struggling with health anxiety, and last night it really hit hard. I’m so grateful for the amazing paramedics who came to help – they were absolute angels and I can’t thank them enough. It’s a reminder to all us mamas to be kind to ourselves and reach out when we need support.

She also expressed gratitude for her husband, Alex, whom she met on the popular ITV show in 2016. They are parents to three-year-old Abel and five-month-old Siena.

Alex was so kind to pick up my antibiotics after staying up all night with me. He even woke up the kids and got them ready to drive me to the emergency room.

As a lifestyle expert, I often get questions about mastitis recovery. Beyond antibiotics, a lot of moms find relief by continuing to breastfeed on the affected side – it actually helps clear the infection. Another tip? Applying chilled cabbage leaves or a cold compress to the breast can really soothe discomfort and reduce inflammation. It’s all about comfort and supporting your body’s natural healing process!

The reality TV personality has publicly discussed her health anxiety, which began after a life-threatening experience following the birth of her daughter, Siena.

During an October appearance on her ITV2 reality show, Olivia & Alex: Parenthood, she tearfully shared that her bladder had shifted into her cervix and she experienced hemorrhaging after childbirth.

Olivia initially planned to give birth at home, using a birthing pool. However, the pain became too intense, and she needed to be rushed to the hospital by ambulance.

We had a birth plan, but things didn’t go as expected. I had a strange feeling that something wasn’t right. After ten hours of labor, I had only dilated to 5cm, but I was determined to keep going. Then I felt a lump and we decided to go to the hospital.

My bladder had shifted and was blocking the baby, making a natural birth impossible.

We ended up needing a C-section. Luckily, she was born crying, and it was an amazing moment when they handed me Siena.

Suddenly, I felt lightheaded and weak, and the nurse began announcing how much blood I was losing.

It was terrifying – they announced a ‘major haemorrhage’ over the loudspeaker. I felt nauseous and lightheaded, and became so weak I had to pass my daughter, Siena, to Alex because I was losing consciousness.

We were really frightened, but the doctors were fantastic and the NHS was amazing. I honestly believe they saved my life.

The couple announced in March they were expecting twins, but tragically lost one of the babies after eight weeks.

Olivia became emotional on the show Loose Women while sharing the story of discovering she was expecting twins. She and her partner found out at an early ultrasound scan, just before Christmas, and were overjoyed.

She explained that they spent a couple of weeks researching cars and preparing a nursery, and during that time, they learned they were originally expecting twins, but one of the embryos didn’t develop – a condition known as vanishing twin syndrome.

She shared that one of the twins had stopped having a heartbeat, but she hadn’t experienced any warning signs like pain, bleeding, or other symptoms. They were completely shocked, as they had been preparing for the arrival of two healthy babies.

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2026-01-13 15:49