Priyanka Chopra Recalls When Daughter Malti Marie Spent 100 Plus Days In NICU: "It Was A Harrowing Time"

Priyanka Chopra's much-awaited spy-thriller Citadel is here. The web series, by the Russo Brothers, premiered on Amazon Prime Video today. Priyanka was super busy with the promotional tour. She was also joined by her co-star Richard Madden when team Citadel rolled out the promotion event carpets in India. One of the major highlights from Priyanka's visit to her homeland was her daughter Malti Marie Chopra Jonas. The actress and her husband welcomed Malti via surrogacy in January, last year. Priyanka, at the time of announcing the happy news, had said that Malti spent “100 plus days in the NICU”. Now, in an interview with Today.com, Priyanka has opened up about those “initial days” when Malti was born. 

Priyanka Chopra said that it was a “harrowing time” for her. The actress added how Nick Jonas gave her strength. “I remember he just held me by my shoulders, and I said, ‘Just tell me what to do because I don't know what to do.' And he's like, ‘Just get into the car with me.' And we drove to the hospital. She was born, and from the moment she took her first breath to now, she's never been without one of us, ever.”

Priyanka Chopra also spoke about how she and Nick Jonas used to divide the days just to make sure that one of them was always with Malti at the NICU. “Nick and I divided the days so that someone was always with the baby, whether it was holding her skin-to-skin or watching the NICU nurses care for her.” Priyanka Chopra also added that she used to sing Hindi lullabies to Malti in the NICU. These were the same songs her mother, Dr Madhu Chopra, used to sing to her.  

Priyanka Chopra added, “I don't think it was our test. I think it was her test,”  Talking about giving all her strength to Malti as her mother, the actress said, “I realised very, very early that I did not have the luxury to be scared or to be weak because she was scared and weak. And I had to be her strength as her mom. I needed to make her feel at every given moment that she's not alone…that we've got her.”

Talking about the phase when they brought Malti home, Priyanka Chopra added, “Bringing the baby to their Los Angeles home was difficult, because in the NICU you know your child is alive because you can see their heartbeat (on the monitor).” The actress added that she “couldn't sleep for days  because now suddenly she was home without a monitor.” Priyanka used to wake up every couple of minutes to see if she was fine. “I used to put my ear on her chest. I would wake up every couple of minutes just to see if she was OK. For weeks, this went on.”  

On Malti's first visit to India, Priyanka Chopra added that the one-year-old had a lot of fun. She “experienced all kinds of firsts, from going to a Hindu temple [Siddhivinayak temple, in Mumbai] to eating spicy Indian food.”

Priyanka added that Malti likes to eat with both her hands “as if she is eating ice cream.”

Priyanka Chopra added that Malti is currently in India with her mother Dr Madhu Chopra. The actress has also shared details about Malti's name. She said that Malti is her mother's middle name and Marie is the middle name of Nick Jonas's mother Denise Jonas.