Heidi Range opens up about breastfeeding nightmare that turned into potentially deadly condition

Heidi Range has opened up about the terrifying moment she realised she had contracted sepsis after struggling to breastfeed daughter Aurelia.

The new mum, who previously told GoodtoKnow that Aurelia’s birth was 'calm and smooth', admitted that she ran into problems when she returned home from the hospital and began breastfeeding.

Believing she had contracted mastitis - where the milk ducts become blocked, inflamed and infected - Heidi soon discovered that her condition was much worse and had developed into sepsis after a trip to her see her doctor.

‘When it came to feeding her, my milk never really got going. I was so upset,’ the former Sugababes singer admitted.

‘I was a first-time mum, I hadn't been through this before so thought “everyone said breastfeeding would be hard, maybe this is just how you feel,"’ she added.

But with an exhausting regime of trying to breastfeed Aurelia every three hours for two hours at a time, Heidi admitted she was in constant agony and was soon forced to seek medical help.

After being diagnosed with mastitis by a midwife, Heidi was sent to the doctors for some antibiotics, but it was there that a health-visitor realised that her infection was far more serious than initially believed.

‘I was in so much pain, shivering and going delirious but I thought it was just because I was so exhausted,’ the 34-year-old explained.

‘It was only when the health-visitor saw my symptoms and spotted a rash that she said “I think you've got sepsis, you need to get to hospital.”’

Heidi was taken to Chelsea and Westminster hospital where blood tests confirmed she had the potentially fatal infection and she was put on a drip for four days to fight it.

But despite being seriously ill, Heidi admitted to Hello! that her main concern was her newborn daughter.

‘I remember looking at Aurelia while I was sick in the hospital and saying to [my husband] Alex, “I'm so glad this is happening to me and not her.”’

Heidi and husband Alex Partakis welcomed their first child, Aurelia, in January.