Priyanka Chopra Jonas opens up about spending 110 days in NICU with daughter Malti

Priyanka Chopra Jonas spent 110 days in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) with her daughter, Malti, after the baby was born prematurely in January 2022.

While speaking with Hoda Kotb for TODAY’s digital cover story, Priyanka, 40, recalls driving to the hospital with her husband, Nick Jonas, to meet their little girl, who was born with help of a surrogate.

“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,’” Priyanka tells Hoda. “She was born, and from the moment she took her first breath to now, she’s never been without one of us, ever.”

See the full TODAY digital cover story with Priyanka Chopra Jonas.

In those early days, Malti needed around-the-clock care in the NICU.

“I realized 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,” Priyanka explains.

Malti, who is now 15 months old, was discharged from the hospital in May 2022, just in time for Mother’s Day. Priyanka felt both excited and scared to bring Malti home to the Los Angeles home she shares with Nick. What if something went wrong?

“I couldn’t sleep for days, because now suddenly she was home without a monitor. I used to put my ear on her chest. I would wake up every couple of minutes just to see if she was OK,” Priyanka says. “For weeks, this went on.”

She's since exhaled.

Earlier this month, Priyanka shared on Instagram photos of Malti’s first trip to India.

During Malti's inaugural visit to her mother's home country, she visited a Hindu temple and experimented with spicy Indian food.

“She’s like, eating it with both her hand … as if she’s eating ice cream!” Priyanka jokes. Malti is also a fan of Hindi lullabies — the same the songs that Priyanka sang to her in the NICU, soothe her to this day.

Additional reporting from the TODAY digital cover story on Priyanka Chopra Jonas, written by Kavita Varma-White.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com