Tina Knowles reveals what it was like being in labour with Beyonce

Tina Knowles remembers being in labour the longest with Beyoncé.

Knowles, momager to Beyoncé and Solange, was discussing her work with her organisation, BirthFund, in a recent talk with journalist and TV personality Elaine Welteroth.

During the conversation, Knowles reflected on what her organisation means to her as BirthFund supports to help expectant mothers access lifesaving prenatal and birthing care, especially in light of high maternal mortality rates in the U.S.

Knowles then touched upon her own experience, acknowledging how fortunate she was to have resources that many women don’t.

“When I went through my motherhood journey, I was very blessed because my [then] husband [Mathew Knowles] was in corporate America and I had good insurance and I had a lot of people around me that were encouraging me to take care of myself and take the vitamins and to go to the doctor and that type of thing,” Knowles told Welteroth. “But that was because I just happened to be in that percentage of women who had those resources.”

When it came to her first delivery, welcoming Beyoncé on September 4, 1981, the Destiny’s Style author remembered being in labour for nine hours. “I was like, ‘Oh my God, just do something,’” she laughed.

Five years later, giving birth to Solange on June 24, 1986, was “a breeze” in comparison. Knowles was induced after going 10 days past her due date. “They said they didn’t have space for me on Monday,” she joked. “I said, ‘You can deliver it in the bathroom, I don’t care, but you’re taking it. And they did.’”

An hour and a half after receiving Pitocin, Solange arrived. Looking back, Knowles admits, “I probably would not have let them induce me the first time — you just want to be so perfect the first time around.”