Family
GMA News reporter Mav Gonzales welcomes baby girl Maya
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Mav Gonzales opened up about her emotional and challenging childbirth experience as she introduced her newborn daughter, Maya, with husband Matt Valeña.
In an Instagram post, the GMA News reporter shared that she initially went to the hospital only for a routine check-up before unexpectedly going into labor. “I was sitting on the hospital bed just for a check-up. I felt something leaking. My water bag had broken during an internal exam,” she recalled. Mav said she immediately called her husband Matt to get them admitted, adding that they were both “confused and shocked” as they prepared to welcome their first child.
Mav Gonzales revealed that despite only experiencing mild contractions, she was already fully dilated and effaced. “Labor was so easy,” she shared, joking that doctors even told her “pain tolerance is a history maker in Makati Med.” However, complications later arose when baby Maya was not moving down properly. The couple and doctors tried different positions including using a tub, squatting, sitting on a stool, and lying sideways on the bed, but the baby still would not descend.
According to Mav, doctors later discovered that her baby's umbilical cord was unusually short. “Apparently her cord was so short so it was like playing a tug of war between the outside world and her placenta,” she said. She eventually received an epidural to help relax her muscles, though she described the procedure as the “worst experience” because she could no longer feel or move her legs. Baby Maya was later delivered with the help of a vacuum procedure.
The journalist also recounted the frightening complications she experienced moments after giving birth. “I remember praying, 'God please don't let me die. Not now that I just got my family,'” she wrote, revealing that she began vomiting, shivering, and losing a lot of blood shortly after delivery. While fading in and out of consciousness, Mav remembered seeing Matt holding their daughter for the first time.
“He smiled at me,” she said.
After undergoing several stitches, receiving a body warmer, and getting a blood transfusion, Mav finally got to hold baby Maya. She described her daughter as the “greatest blessing” she and Matt have ever received, calling the newborn their “7.5lb chubby cheeked baby Maya.”
In June 2025, Mav Gonzales and Matthew Valeña announced their engagement before officially tying the knot in the United States some months later. The couple then held a second wedding ceremony in Antipolo City in 2026.
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