Dannii Minogue's Childbirth Agony

Dannii Minogue chose to have a Caesarean section in hospital rather than give birth to baby Ethan naturally and at home because the child was in a painful position during labour, the star revealed.

The singer-turned-reality-TV judge had her heart set on a natural birth at her home in Melbourne, Australia but was taken to hospital to have the baby removed by surgeons after 20 hours of "excruciating pain".

And she has told of her relief when little Ethan was born healthy - because he had slipped into an awkward position as she prepared to deliver him.

In her upcoming memoirs, serialised in Britain's Mail on Sunday, Minogue writes: "Typically for me, nothing about the birth went according to plan. For a start, Ethan arrived ten days early, and then we discovered he wasn't in the correct position for a smooth delivery.

"So, after 20 hours of excruciating labour, my plans for a home birth went out of the window and I ended up having Ethan in hospital... But several hours into my labour my initial serenity had evaporated. Because Ethan was in a posterior position, meaning his back was in line with my back and his arms and legs were moving freely across my tummy, I was in absolute agony.

"(The midwives) have since told me how brave I was during those long hours of labour; but not having had a baby before I had no idea at the time whether it was bravery or delirium that saw me through... But when I held Ethan for the first time, the pain and worry melted away... It was wonderful."

Minogue, who turns 40 later this year, gave birth to Ethan, her son by her rugby player boyfriend Kris Smith, last July.