Liz Cantor reveals joy over new baby girl

After a traumatic birth for baby number two, Channel 7 presenter Liz Cantor was braced for the worst. But thankfully the birth of her baby girl was “more than she could’ve hoped for”.

Of all the things Liz Cantor was expecting to feel during the birth of her third baby, this wasn’t it.

The Channel 7 Gold Coast presenter was braced for the worst after a horror experience during the birth of her second child, Fin, now four, in 2018, where her uterus ruptured during delivery.

The trauma stayed with her with bright lights or high speed driving triggering memories of lying on the hospital bed and prompted crippling panic attacks.

And so when the mother-of-three found herself lying on the hospital bed once again, it was a relief to be overcome with joy as she gave birth to her first daughter, Sky, at Pindara Private Hospital on the Gold Coast on September 30.

First photos of Liz Cantor and her new baby Sky at Pindara Private Hospital Gold Coast. Picture: Pindara Private Hospital/Lana Bell Photography.

“I was quite anxious heading into the birth, it was part of the reason I’d left it four years and also to give myself the chance to heal mentally, emotionally and physically and be capable of coping and doing it again in the best way possible,” said Cantor, mother to eldest son, Kit, 5, with husband Ryan Lysaught.

“This is beyond what I could’ve hoped for, I was braced for crying in public but I didn’t even cry, I was smiling too much.

“I would actually say it was enjoyable which is a crazy thing to say about birth and surgery.”

This time, Cantor wanted things to be different and opted for a maternally-assisted caesarean where she helped lift her own baby out of the womb.

Liz Cantor’s new baby Sky at Pindara Private Hospital Gold Coast. Picture: Pindara Private Hospital/Lana Bell Photography.

“It happens very quickly, the obstetrician opens you up, your waters are broken and basically immediately he had my hands and said ‘I’m putting your hands in your uterus and you’ll feel her head’,” she said.

“I thought that would be overwhelming but once I felt her and had that physical touch, it was really calming and very comforting.

“That was an incredibly special experience and I’m so lucky to have lived it.”

Liz Cantor with her husband Ryan and children, Kit, Fin and Sky at Pindara Private Hospital Gold Coast. Picture: Pindara Private Hospital/Lana Bell Photography.

It’s a stark contrast to her previous birth which led her to suffer panic attacks months later that were so bad she’d lose her vision.

“When I started doing high speed driving on the motorway or walking into rooms under bright lights, initially I was like, do I need a brainscan?” she said.

“I was thinking ‘what the hell is wrong with me, why is this happening’ and it took a bit of time in speaking with the GP and psychologist to link the connection.

“I was so caught off guard that you can have such a physical reaction with no control.”

She soon got the treatment she needed and Cantor says is now feeling stronger than ever.

“I am super grateful, there is no other word for it, I’m so excited for this next chapter.”