Oscar-winning actress Mira Sorvino is living her best life with her husband, Christopher Backus. Sorvino and Backus got engaged in 2003, a month after meeting each other. 

Not even a year later, they tied the knot on June 11, 2004, in a private ceremony at the Santa Barbara courthouse. They also had a hilltop wedding in Capri, Italy. 

Despite having an age gap of almost 14 years, the pair is still going strong. They have been married for 17 years and are head over heels for each other to this date.  

The love between the couple is solidified by their four children — Mattea Angel Backus, Lucia Backus, Johnny Christopher King Backus, Holden Paul Terry Backus.  

Mattea was born in 2004, Johnny in 2006, Holden in 2009, and Lucia was born in 2012. It was easy for Sorvino when she was pregnant with Mattea, Johnny, and Lucia, but the same cannot be said in Holden's case. 

Holden Backus Is a Miracle Baby 

The actress shared the story of her pregnancy complications during an interview with People. 

Sorvino's had placenta previa, which required her to be hospitalized for weeks before being placed on strict bed rest. She was in the hospital from 22 to 27 weeks of pregnancy since it was life-threatening to her and Holden. 

According to WebMD, placenta previa is a condition in pregnant women where the placenta blocks the opening of the cervix. This might cause severe bleeding during the pregnancy and also while delivering. 

Due to excessive bleeding, the health of both the mother and child can be at risk. After spending a few weeks in the hospital, Sorvino went home to her husband and kids. 

Unfortunately, she had another episode on the 30th week and had to be rushed to the hospital again. Because of her inactivity, she developed a blood clot and had to be anti-coagulated to avoid a pulmonary embolism (blood clot in the lungs). 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Mira Sorvino (@mirasorvino)

As a result, she had to stay in the hospital for another two and a half weeks. Moreover, she had been separated from her husband and children for quite some time due to complications. 

Being separated from their mother was taking a toll on Mattea and Johnny, which Sorvino dubbed "almost unbearable."

Premature birth is quite normal if a woman is suffering from placenta previa. Therefore, it is no surprise that Holden was born a couple of weeks early than he should have. This also meant a long and difficult labor and delivery process. 

During the day of the delivery, Sorvino had no progress with labor and had "scary difficulties with epidurals." Then, to make matters worse, her placenta started creating problems. 

However, it did not block the cervix as it did during the pregnancy, but it made her lose blood. The delivery was challenging for the actress to the point that she was begging for a c-section. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Mira Sorvino (@mirasorvino)

But just as she was asking for it, the "situation turned around," and delivery started getting easy. Thankfully, Christopher was beside her throughout the delivery, supporting her as much as he could.

Soon, Holden was in their arms, completely healthy. That was the moment Sorvino knew all the complications had been worth it. 

The actress dubbed Holden a "miracle baby" since he survived unscathed from a life-threatening pregnancy. Not long after, the mother-son duo went home to their family, where they were "blessed to have a home filled with so much love."