• Ella Chen with Strong Baby

Ella Chen with Strong Baby (Photo : Facebook/Ella Chen)

S.H.E. girl band member Ella Chen gave birth on April 12 to a baby boy. The Taiwanese actress-singer gave her infant the nickname “Strong Baby.”

Selina and Hebe, her band mates, were reportedly present when Ella delivered her first baby. The next day, the new mother posted on Facebook the photo of her baby and husband Alvin Lai as well as her two visitors, confirming that Hebe and Selina witnessed the childbirth, Toggle reported.

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Not Water Birth

Fans, upon learning that Ella was in the hospital to deliver her first baby, speculated she had a water birth. But in her Facebook post, Ella clarified she originally wanted to try a water birth, but it was not successful. “My cervix was too thick, and my birth canal was not wide enough, as its width did not even measure the length of a hand.” Ella said she instead had a natural birth but did not get an epidural so she had a very painful experience.

Strong Baby weighed 3.88 kilograms and was 48 centimeters long when born. Amniotic fluid and meconium entered the lungs of the newborn. To remove those impurities, the hospital had to use a ventilator.

Because Ella no longer accepted new work when she discovered in October that she was pregnant, the singer-actress is estimated to have lost NT$60 million income. Her expected delivery date is on April 18, but she gave birth six days earlier.

Grandparents to Visit

The father of Alvin Lai, who lives in Malaysia, said he and his wife will fly to Taiwanese to see their grandson. Because the expected birth is on April 18, the grandparents of Strong Baby booked flights for April 20. “It seems my grandson just could not wait to come to this world,” The Star quoted the grandfather.