Yarden Gerbi describes a fast, dramatic labor one month after becoming a mother

Yarden Gerbi, who became a mother to her first daughter, Noel, a month ago, described for the first time the dramatic birth she went through. She said her water broke in the middle of the night during week 38, she arrived at the hospital already two centimeters dilated, and what began as contractions every 40 minutes quickly turned into constant labor. By the time she gave birth, her contractions had started at 8 p.m. and Noel was born at 5 a.m.

Gerbi, who attended the launch event for Wissotzky’s COLD BREEZE iced tea line, said the pain escalated so fast that she did not believe the initial measurements. “I was taught all my life not to show pain, until I shouted that I wanted an epidural,” she said. After receiving the epidural, staff checked her again and told her she was fully dilated. Gerbi said she cried because she briefly doubted herself, adding, “I felt like I was giving birth standing up.”

She explained that when she suffers, she tends to withdraw rather than shout, which made it seem as if she was not in severe pain. Gerbi and her partner, Adi Ambar, welcomed Noel, their first child, about a month ago. Gerbi said, “We have a treasure, I am happy! I feel at my peak. I have everything I want, nothing interests me. I only want to be with my family.”

Over the weekend, Gerbi marked Pride Month with a post featuring Noel in Pride colors. She wrote that she was proud of “the family we built,” their love, their home, and especially the values they will pass on to their daughter, including the idea that “you can live your life exactly as it is, true to yourself.” The post drew thousands of likes and shares, and Gerbi added that it is not self-evident to live the life you want, saying she embraces that feeling because “I can do judo, be a woman, and love women.”