Mai Hagiwara (29), a former member of the idol group ℃-ute who started a fashion brand after retiring, announced on Instagram on the 16th that she has given birth to her first child.

Alongside a black-and-white photo of the baby, she reported, "I gave birth to a healthy baby boy at 41 weeks and 1 day, one week past the due date. Both mother and child are healthy." She also wrote a lengthy account of the events leading up to the birth.

"From the time I entered full term until he was born, I tried various things like labor jinxes and exercising more actively, but I just couldn't meet him and I kept thinking, "I can't wait to meet him," but I was finally able to meet him," she explained.

She continued, "As I was over my due date, we decided on a planned birth, starting with a balloon delivery and then giving birth with an inducer. I had originally planned on a natural birth, but after my water was broken, labour progressed rapidly and I think because they continued to give me additional inducers, the pain suddenly became more unimaginable, and I thought that if it continued like this I wouldn't be able to breathe properly and it would be painful for the baby, so we changed to an epidural." She continued, "From there, the anesthesia worked until my cervix was fully dilated, which really subsided the pain, but when it was fully dilated and we were ready to give birth, the doctor in charge changed due to working hours and the anesthesia was reduced. So in the end, the feeling of labour returned for the last two hours or so and I gave birth almost naturally."

While frankly admitting that she "never expected" the baby would be born "without much anesthesia," she added with a sense of reality, "I think the reason I can laugh about this episode like this is because my son was born safe and healthy."

Hagiwara announced her marriage in 2021. She said that her husband "was by my side and supported me for nearly 10 hours," adding, "Thanks to him, I was able to get through the birth, and the experience we went through together has become a very special and irreplaceable memory for us as a couple." She continued, "Thank you so much for being born to us."

Hagiwara made his major debut as a member of the group C-ute in 2007. When the group disbanded in 2017, he retired from showbiz and is now working as a businessman.