Actress Stacy Keibler felt like "a warrior" when she was giving birth to her daughter Ava naturally.

The 35-year-old star welcomed 10-month-old daughter Ava into the world naturally at her home in here last August with support from husband Jared Pobre and a midwife, and thinks the experience helped her form an instant close bond with her child, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

Discussing her drug-free delivery, she said: "I felt like we went to war together. I kept saying, 'Ava's a warrior. I'm a warrior.' It was one of my mantras that I would say. Then when she came out, I feel like we had this bond that we had just fought together."

Former wrestler Keibler, who previously dated actor George Clooney for two years until 2013, tried to stay as healthy as possible during her pregnancy and believes it helped her to cope during her 19 hours of labour.

She said: "I really think it prepared me for motherhood. You're going to go through a lot of things you don't expect. I had my weakest and strongest moments. I'll have those again being a mother."