Elsa Hosk says giving birth was the "worst pain, fear and darkness" she has ever felt.
The 32-year-old supermodel welcomed daughter Tuulikki Joan with partner Tom Daly last week and has shared a six-part essay on giving birth on Instagram and explained how difficult she found it at times.
Elsa wrote: "It's the worst pain, fear and darkness I've ever experienced in those moments. I feel like an animal. I have given up every sense of what you're supposed to look like, what anyone would think of me, what was normal many, many hours ago."
The star opened on the emotional moment when she welcomed her daughter to the world.
She recalled: "With the biggest, most extended push, and a sound and sensation that I've never felt or made in life – the whole head came out. I'm so relieved, I've never felt more relieved. I feel like it's over. Then her body with another big push. And she is put on my chest. All bloody and fluids are everywhere and she is pooping all over me, and she is looking for my nipple. And the most pain I've ever felt is forgotten, I am overwhelmed with love, proudness, happiness."
In a lengthy Instagram post, Elsa continued: "She is here. I talk to her. I tell her I'm so proud of her. Her mom has been through war and yet she is so chill, her heart rate so stable. She had arrived with the sun at 7am, and the room shifted from what felt like a horror movie darkness into a light sun filled dream.
"On the morning she is born, all the planets are in her sign, my super Aquarius baby."
