Last year, actress Amirah Vann shared exciting news with her fans—she was pregnant with her first child at 40 and beyond excited to become a mom. Now, she has!
Vann and her fiancé, Patrick Oyeku, have welcomed their first child together—a baby girl named Nyla Fe Oyeku.
“Our life has new meaning,” wrote the Queen Sugar star in a caption below the first photo of her newborn daughter that she shared on Instagram. “We dreamt it and it’s now a reality. Nyla Fe Oyeku, welcome to the world,” Oyeku said after also sharing the adorable snapshot of their baby girl.
It has been quite a special journey for the new parents, who decided to grow their family during a global pandemic. In December, Vann opened up about her journey to motherhood and pregnancy in an essay she penned for GLAMOUR. “My fiancé Pat and I planned it, using ovulation test strips to know when would be the optimal time,” she wrote at the time. While Vann admitted still being nervous to take the pregnancy test, she described the moment she and Oyeku saw a positive test as being a “moment of unspeakable joy.” It was also the moment she knew that she’d made the right decision to become a mom. “I realized there is no perfect time, no foolproof season,” Vann, who joined the cast of OWN’s hit drama Queen Sugar last season, continued. “In a year marked by fear, I remained grounded in the notion that our foremothers had children, intentionally or not, under far worse conditions than those we face today. It doesn’t matter whether you are 40 or 20—the world doesn’t adjust to your life; the career doesn’t stop for you. You have to decide this is what you want.”
Vann’s road to motherhood wasn’t without its bumps and challenges along the way. In her essay, she also detailed the pregnancy challenges she faced. “For many of us, the experience goes far beyond the usual morning sickness and back pain symptoms,” wrote Vann. “And for some women, like me, there are more serious complications. Sixteen weeks into my pregnancy, I was diagnosed with an ‘incompetent cervix.'” Vann ultimately made the difficult decision to get a cervical cerclage (a Shirodkar cerclage) to help keep her baby safe as she carried it to term.
Vann has been very open publicly about how essential Oyeku’s love and support has been to her journey. “Honestly, I couldn’t have gotten through this past year without Pat,” recently told The Bare Magazine. “He’s truly stepped up to the plate and is not afraid of growth or success. He inspires me, supports my ambitions, and keeps me laughing and I love him for it.”
Congrats, mom and dad!