'I was incredibly nervous and scared' Katherine Heigl opens up about the birth of her son

Katherine Heigl, a Hollywood actress famous for her roles in Grey's Anatomy and Knocked Up, has opened up about the difficult birth she experienced when she delivered her baby son Joshua. The 39-year-old took to her Instagram account to share photos from the day she gave birth to her youngest son to celebrate his first birthday.

In the caption for her immensely personal and intimate family photos the star goes into detail about how Joshua wasn't breathing when he was first delivered via caesarean last December.

'At 9am one year ago today I had @joshbkelley take this photo of me so I could remember how incredibly pregnant I was right before we left for the hospital and my 12pm scheduled caesarean,' Katherine started her post.

'Joshua Jr had been in the breech position for over a month and had still not moved an inch a week before his due date so I made the decision to have a caesarean and was incredibly nervous and a little scared this time last year.'

She went on to describe her labour in more detail: 'I had never been hospitalized or had ever had any kind of surgery and had no idea what to expect. The second photo is right before I went in for surgery. Trying to look cool, calm and collected! They numbed me up, gave me some morphine and opened me up.'

'My doctor struggled to get him out because he was really wedged in there and not quite ready to leave the womb. When she finally pulled him out at exactly 12:33pm he didn't start breathing and they worked quickly to get oxygen in him and start his tiny lungs.'

'@joshbkelley was standing with them when he finally took his first breath. That day, as I slowly came out of the morphine haze and clutched my tiny man to me I thanked the heavens for his breath, his life and for making me a mother three times over. As evening settled in Josh and I got cozy in my hospital room, found one of my all time favorites #SweetHomeAlabama on the tv and just relished in our perfect newborn son. He was so tiny and new, so fragile and tender.'

The mother-of-three then describes what life is like with her one-year-old son now, a year after her difficult labour.

'Here we are, a whole year later and it's only the photos that remind me my brute of a boy was ever so new and small! Now he's 26 ponds of rolling, tumbling, grasping, giggling, shouting, curious, jolly energy,' Katherine wrote.

'He is everything and more than I could have hoped for and he has brought our family even more joy, love, laughter, abundance, bliss and yes, exhaustion and exasperation too!'

'It's been a hell of a year and I could not be more grateful for it or him! Happy Birthday to my little man! Maybe I can make this next year go a little slower!'

Katherine Heigl welcomed Joshua on 20th December with husband Josh Kelley. She was already mum to two children, her adopted daughters Naleigh and Adalaide.