Sarah Jayne Dunn says it took her a year to recover after giving birth

Sarah Jayne Dunn revealed that it took her over a year to feel normal again after having a difficult birth with her son. 

The former Hollyoaks actress, 40, shares six-year-old son Stanley with her fitness trainer husband Jonathan Smith. 

The star has now opened up about the health problems she had which were triggered by birth and how they affected her confidence and sex life. 

The model told fans while speaking on Mother Bodies podcast that the NHS needs to prepare mums about the realities of life after giving birth. 

The Hot and Bothered podcast host also added that women should be given the honest truth about how long it takes to recover after welcoming a child. 

Sarah said: ‘I didn’t feel like there was anyone that I could really reach out to other than going to the GP. 

‘And for them, it was not a big problem. Whereas for me, it was really affecting my day to day [life].’

She added: ‘There’s all this emphasis on getting your body back to certain shape or size but actually nobody talks about the medical implications and how difficult they can be.

‘I never, never expected to, a year after having Stanley, be still having issues that had arisen from the birth.’

While Sarah was in labour Stanley got stuck and a separate issue with her placenta caused her to be rushed into surgery and given immediate stiches. 

Around eight out of ten new mothers have stitches for a tear or surgical cut, like Sarah had.

She revealed that the scarring caused her pain and problems for over a year especially in everyday activities like going to the toilet leaving her wishing she had ‘prepped for what might happen’.

She said: ‘I thought I might just be a bit uncomfortable sitting down for a few weeks… I wish I’d known how much of an effect it would have on my body,’ 

‘I had quite a lot of problems with the scarring with sensitivity. So then obviously [that causes issues] moving forward in your relationship, with sex and things like that.’

She said although some women didn’t want to hear ‘horror stories’, many would benefit from knowing the full facts.

‘I wish there were more resources – and openness – around the longevity of the postnatal [recovery time].

‘It’s different for everyone, but you don’t know how long it’s going to take. And there were a lot of issues that I didn’t anticipate, that did go on for at least a year.

‘It would be nice to be more informed and just to have those resources available, whether you want to look at them or not, to know that they’re there would be great.’

Sarah, who gave birth in 2016 to her son, repeatedly returned to her GP trying a variety of treatments but she said she became better after returning to strength training which Stanley was 18 months old.

The actress and OnlyFans star is also a trained postnatal fitness instructor and said how ‘shocked’ she was by the lack of information for mums regaining their physical strength safely. 

Sarah said she was given a leaflet about pelvic floor exercises in hospital and due to her training she knee how important that is but nothing else was mention. 

She added: ‘There was no one saying, “This is really important” 

‘And that shocked me because I knew how important that part of the postnatal journey really is for you moving forward.’

Sarah recently collaborated with fellow OnlyFans model Rhian Sugden to create an X-rated podcast that will discuss ‘sex, fetishes and roleplay’. 

Speaking about the risqué venture Sarah exclusively told MailOnline: ‘I’m super excited to launch my new podcast, Hot and Bothered.

‘It seemed like a natural progression after the success of my OnlyFans account to continue the conversation around confidence and empowerment and give people an insight into the OnlyFans world.’

The close friends are both successful models in their own right, with Rhian being a former Page 3 girl and glamour model as well as appearing in lads mags including Zoo, Nuts and Maxim.

Sarah was sensationally sacked from the Channel 4 show in a row over OnlyFans as she refused to give up her money-making X-rated subscription account.

She explained how she struggled financially during the coronavirus pandemic and wanted a stable form of work to rely on.

When asked if it has been worth it, Sarah said: ‘Yes is the short answer. This not something I’ve done on a whim, I’d been thinking about it for months prior to launch. Lockdown is one of the biggest reasons, it was difficult for all of us.

‘The uncertainty of knowing what was going to happen after, would I have a job to go back to? Financially it was difficult.

‘It was during that time I thought I needed something else that I can do that I can be creative and in control of. That’s where thought process came from. It’s been great. No regrets. It’s changed my life.’

The Mother Bodies podcast interview with Sarah Jayne Dunn is available at: https://podfollow.com/mother-bodies.

For help or advice, please visit: Birth Trauma Association