Pregnant Edith Bowman could die giving birth

Radio 1 DJ has a secret heart defect

Wednesday, 6 February 2008

Pregnant Edith Bowman has revealed that she could die while giving birth – because she's got a heart condition called bicuspid aortic valve.

The 33-year-old is almost 5 months pregnant with her first child with musician partner Tom Smith, 26.

She'll have to have a Caesarean delivery because the valve defect means extra pressure is put on the heart.

'I need extra scans and I'll have to have a Caesarean because no one, including my heart specialist, sees the point in putting my heart through unnecessary stress,' she explains.

'Childbirth carries the risk of causing deterioration in a bicuspid valve, so it's not a good idea. But I'm not one of these women who is desperate for a natural birth, so I'm fine with it.'

Edith insists she won't let the condition, which was diagnosed in 2004, stop her from having fun.

'It was shocking, obviously,' she tells the Daily Record. 'But once you get your head around it, you realise there's nothing you can do except try and get on with life.

'We get to find out the baby's sex later this month but I'm like, "There are really more important things to worry about right now than the colour of baby clothes".'