Beyoncé opens up about her ‘extremely difficult’ pregnancy with Rumi and Sir

"One of my babies’ heart beats paused a few times, so I needed to get an emergency C-section."

Beyoncé has opened up about her "extremely difficult pregnancy" with her twins, Rumi and Sir. The 37-year-old candidly spoke about the difficulties she experienced while carrying her two youngest children in her new Netflix documentary, Homecoming.  The film gives fans a behind-the-scenes look at her headlining performance at Coachella 2018, as well as a look at what was going on as she prepared to take for the stage. This included her recovery from an "extremely difficult pregnancy" with her youngest children, twins Rumi and Sir. Beyoncé recalled how her pregnancy was a surprise, as she was supposed to perform at Coachella the year before. She continued:

"My body went through more than I knew it could "I was 218 pounds the day I gave birth. I had an extremely difficult pregnancy. I had high blood pressure. "I developed toxemia, preeclampsia, and in the womb, one of my babies’ heart beats paused a few times, so I needed to get an emergency C-section."

According to the Mayo Clinic, preeclampsia is a pregnancy complication characterised by high blood pressure and signs of damage to another organ system, most often the liver and kidneys. The singer went on to describe how she felt she had to "rebuild" her body - and how getting back to preparing her Coachella performance after Rumi and Sir's birth brought its own challenges. She said:

“I had to rebuild my body from cut muscles. It took me a while to feel confident enough to … give my own personality. “In the beginning, there were so many muscle spasms and just internally, my body was not connected. My mind was not there. My mind wanted to be with my children. “What people don’t see is the sacrifice. “It’s my first time home back home on the stage after giving birth; I’m creating my own homecoming, and it’s hard. “There were days that I thought I’d never be the same. I’d never be the same physically, my strength and endurance would never be the same.”

However, the rehearsals led Beyoncé to learn a "valuable lesson." She said:

“I definitely pushed myself further than I knew I could and I’ve learned a very valuable lesson. “I will never, never push myself that far again. I feel like I’m just a new woman in a new chapter of my life and I’m not even trying to be who I was. It’s just so beautiful that children do that to you.”

• Homecoming is available to stream on Netflix now.