Cork singer and actress, Claudia Rose Long: Being a mum is amazing

CORK singer and actress Claudia Rose Long is celebrating the birth of her baby boy after experiencing a traumatic ectopic pregnancy last year.

Claudia and husband, professional footballer Sean Maguire, welcomed baby Romeo into the world on June 11, and she described him as a dream baby.

“It’s been absolutely fine so far – I think I may have a false sense of reality though,” she joked, speaking from their home outside Manchester.

But it hasn’t all been plain sailing for the 26-year-old from Ballyphehane and Kilkenny native Sean, aged 30. Claudia shared her story of having an ectopic pregnancy last August with The Echo, in a bid to raise awareness about the condition, and potentially save another woman’s life.

“I actually got pregnant again eight weeks after the ectopic pregnancy which was unexpected and is actually very rare – usually it can take up to 18 months.

“Not surprisingly there was a lot of worry at the beginning, as I hadn’t had any obvious symptoms with the ectopic. I actually developed pains at five weeks and did think it was happening again. When we went to hospital we were told that it looked like everything in the right place but it was too soon to confirm the actual pregnancy. 

We had to wait another two weeks for that, and that was a long and hard fortnight. 

"I had a lot of PTSD from before,” she recalled.

When the couple got the pregnancy confirmed, Claudia said she still couldn’t really enjoy the moment because of the worry.

“That scan was at seven and a half weeks and that’s when I started to feel sick – I remember getting sick actually outside the hospital, and it didn’t really stop until 25 weeks. I wasn’t getting sick every day but I did feel nauseous from morning to night which was nearly worse as there no relief. I stayed at home for a lot of that time as I was too afraid in case I’d be sick in the supermarket or shopping centre,” she said.

Fortunately at the 25 week mark, she started to thrive in the pregnancy: “All my energy came back. I was able to take the dog for a walk, and get back to cleaning – I love cleaning!” she said.

Her due date was June 10th and Romeo made his entrance in the world on June 11th – after an exhausting four-day labour.

I actually thought it was a myth when people said labour could go on for days – I found out that it isn’t!

“My mum was over for a few weeks helping to get organised and on June 8th we went shopping in the Trafford Centre, to try to induce things. I remember I hadn’t quite felt myself that day – fed up and a bit emotional. I went to bed that night and woke up with pains every 20 minutes so I messaged my mid wife who told me to keep monitoring things. I laboured at home the next day, Sunday, and it got really intense that night so we went to the hospital where the contractions were every 10 minutes, but I was only 1.5cm dilated so I was sent home. But two hours later things really ramped up and I was rolling around in pain. Mum rang the hospital and I went back in and I was only 2cms dilated, even though the contractions were every two minutes – I wasn’t getting any break inbetween at all,” she remembered.

Early next morning Claudia went to a midwife-led birthing centre in the hospital.

“At that stage I was 5cm dilated and I got into a water bath and laboured for a few hours, with gas and air which didn’t even scratch the surface. We had Drake and Beyonce playing to get some happy vibes but I was so exhausted at that stage that I really needed an epidural,” she said.

“When I got it, it took away the majority of the pain, but not all. I was able to relax a little and we watched some Love Island but I still wasn’t progressing much,” she said.

I got stuck at 9cm – it turned out that the baby and I were back to back which explained why the contractions were so intense.

Things were about to get even more intense. After a forceps delivery, something she was really hoping she wouldn’t need, Claudia lost 1.7L of blood.

“I remember they put the baby on my chest but I couldn’t even hold him as I was in and out of consciousness,” she said. “I was lucky Sean was able to do the skin-to-skin and give him his first bottle as I really don’t remember much – I was in such shock.

“I also developed an infection from theatre which for a while they thought was sepsis,” she said.

Fortunately, after three days the new mum and 8lb Romeo were allowed home.

Claudia’s an only child and her thrilled parents Rose and Gerard (also Romeo’s second name) visited, followed by Sean’s parents three days later.

Romeo is the first grandchild on both sides so naturally his arrival has caused huge joy and excitement.

“Mum was here for a while and has gone back, but is due back over again. It’s great to have an extra pair of hands, but he’s actually a great baby and he just fell into his own routine. He’s just waking once a night for a feed. I think it’s good karma after what I went through in labour!” she said.

The couple already knew they were having a boy and kept coming back to the name ‘Romeo.’

It’s funny actually as I’ve a dog in Cork who is Cruise – they’re both the names of David Beckham’s kids!

Claudia and Sean met on Tinder when Sean played for Cork City and have been a couple since 2016, marrying two years ago. They’ve lived in the UK for the past seven years, and he played for Carlisle last year and is now waiting to see where his next move will take him.

Claudia says she’d ideally like the move to be the UK or Ireland, as opposed to as far away as Australia.

“But at the same time we’re not going to pass up on an opportunity,” she said.

Home will always be Cork and that’s where the couple will ultimately live in the future.

“We’re both big on family so 100% we’ll live in Cork to be near to family. In the meantime we’ve applied for Romeo’s passport to get over to visit.”

Claudia is known for her role in The Young Offenders, and for her time on the TV talent show, The Voice UK. She had actually started her own event and party planning last September, a month before finding out she was pregnant: “That didn’t quite go to plan!” she said.

“But acting and performing will always be my first and main passion and I can’t wait to get back to it again,” she said.

In the meantime, she’s enjoying every moment of being a new mum.

Any advice to share so far?

“You can prepare all you like, read all the books and buy all the gear, but the baby will tell you what they want – and anyway, it’s amazing how fast things come to you.”