Ben Higgins' Wife Jess Clarke Says Doctors Lost Baby Daughter's Heartbeat for 10 Minutes During Labor: 'Scary'

Mar. 15, 2025

Ben Higgins and Jessica Clarke.Photo:Jesse Grant/Getty

Jesse Grant/Getty

On a Thursday, Feb. 20 episode of his podcastAlmost Famous, the former Bachelor and his wife spoke about the birth of their daughter Winona “Winnie” Elane, who came into the world on Feb. 12. “Her blood pressure dropped and so we lost her heartbeat for 10 minutes,” Clarke shares on the podcast.

“They flipped me on all fours, so I’m on all fours in my hospital gown and like 10 doctors come rushing in,” she continues. “It turns out this is very common and not as big of an emergency as we thought it was. But it was scary.”

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As the doctors started to get ready to perform a Caesarean section (C-section), Higgins says their daughter’s heart rate dropped, adding, “They could still find it but it was severely low.”

Wanting to give his wife space, Higgins says that he tried his best to not interfere and just watch a basketball game — until things went worse.

“Words still are hard for me, I won’t accurately articulate what just happened. But for the last 2 mornings I wake up feeling like it was a dream, reminding myself of the blessings of Jesus, then looking over to see Jessica and Winona and being mentally reunited with the truth that I am a dad and a husband and that we are a family.”

“Life starts again for us, a new chapter we enter into, and so many moments of lacking the words but feeling God inspired love,” Higgins added.

source: people.com