Nick Jonas has courageously opened up about the terrifying health complications his daughter experienced following her premature birth, revealing the infant required immediate resuscitation and received six blood transfusions during her extended hospital stay.
"Frightening" Premature Arrival
The Jonas Brothers singer and his wife, actress Priyanka Chopra Jonas, welcomed their daughter Malti Marie via surrogate in January 2022, though her arrival came much earlier than anticipated. Speaking on Jay Shetty's On Purpose podcast, Jonas recounted the sudden call informing them their daughter would be arriving sooner than the expected April due date.
"We were expecting her to arrive in April of the year she was born, and we get a call that it's going to be sooner. So basically, we went into action," Jonas explained. "We got to the hospital, and she came out. She was 1 pound, 11 ounces, and... purple."
Immediate Medical Intervention
Jonas described how medical professionals at the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) sprang into action immediately after his daughter's birth. "These angels at the NICU resuscitated her in that moment, and got her taken care of really quickly and intubated and everything else," he shared emotionally.
The singer revealed his daughter spent over three months in the NICU during a period when hospitals were still following strict COVID-19 protocols. Both parents spent long hours at the hospital throughout this challenging period until Malti was finally discharged after three and a half months.
Extended NICU Stay and Transfusions
Throughout the extensive hospitalisation, Jonas's daughter slowly began to gain weight while receiving critical medical care. The musician disclosed that during this time, his daughter required a total of six blood transfusions before she was strong enough to leave the hospital.
Reflecting on the intense experience, Jonas admitted: "I could still sort of like, smell it, you know, there's always visceral things. It was both comforting and frightening, to be there every day and to see other families going through similar situations."
Parental Perspectives on the Trauma
Priyanka Chopra Jonas had previously discussed witnessing her daughter's premature birth in a 2023 interview with British Vogue. "I was in the OR when she came out. She was so small, smaller than my hand," she recalled. "I saw what the intensive-care nurses do. They do God's work. Nick and I were both standing there as they intubated her. I don't know how they even found what they needed [in her tiny body] to intubate her."
The actress added with heartbreaking honesty: "I didn't know if she would make it or not."
Gratitude and Recovery
Despite the traumatic beginning, Jonas expressed profound gratitude for his daughter's recovery and current health. "I feel like she knows how she entered the world and what that first chapter of her life was like," he reflected. "And so every day is a gift, and you can actually feel it in her in the way that she behaves and how exciting everything is."
The couple's openness about their daughter's premature birth and subsequent medical journey sheds light on the challenges faced by families with babies in neonatal intensive care, while also celebrating the remarkable work of NICU medical professionals who care for the most vulnerable infants.
