Mav Gonzales gives birth to a baby girl!

Mav Gonzales has given birth to a healthy baby girl.

On Facebook on Monday, the Kapuso journalist detailed her unexpected birthing journey, which began during what was supposed to be just a check-up.

“I was sitting on the hospital bed just for a check-up,” she recalled. “I felt something leaking. My water bag [broke] during an internal exam.”

Mav said she immediately called her husband, Matthew Valeña, as they rushed to get admitted to the hospital.

“He was also so confused and shocked, but he did the best a first-time dad could do,” she said.

Initially, Mav described her labor as “easy” with only "mild contractions." However, complications arose when the baby was not moving down properly.

“We tried different positions. In the tub. Squatting. Sitting [on] a stool. Lying sideways on the bed,” she said. “She still wasn’t moving.”

“And then the doctor said my bladder is already bleeding because the baby’s head was bumping into it,” she added.

Mav then recalled her difficult experience with an epidural, which she described as the “worst experience of my life, not being able to feel or move my legs.”

Eventually, the baby was delivered with the help of a vacuum procedure, with Mav revealing that her daughter's umbilical cord was short, likening the experience to “playing a tug of war between the outside world and her placenta.”

After the delivery, Mav said she immediately suffered from complications, including vomiting, bleeding, and losing consciousness.

“While I was dipping in and out of consciousness, I saw Matt on the couch in his jeans and silly hair cover holding our daughter,” she said. “He smiled at me.”

“I remember praying, 'God, please don’t let me die. Not now that I just got my family,'” she said. “I hadn’t even bonded with my baby yet.”

Mav said she eventually recovered after receiving blood transfusions and medical treatment.

“God heard my prayer,” she said.

“A body warmer, several stitches and blood transfusions after, I finally got to hold the greatest blessing Matt and I have ever received — a 7.5lb chubby cheeked baby Maya,” she added.

The married couple announced their pregnancy in December 2025, two months after they tied the knot.

—Hermes Joy Tunac/CDC, GMA News