Jessica Simpson Recalls Being Hospitalized While Pregnant with Daughter: 'I Couldn't Breathe'

Jessica Simpson is recounting her stressful third pregnancy.

The multi-hyphenate mogul, 41, opened up during an interview with Bloomberg Businessweek about dealing with the nerve-wracking experience of being sick while giving birth to her now 2-year-old daughter Birdie Mae.

Simpson told the outlet that she was 34 weeks pregnant when she had a severe case of bronchitis, which put her in the hospital on a "breathing machine" and compromised her daughter's health.

"Her [Birdie] oxygen levels were dropping. I couldn't breathe," Simpson recalled. "I was 260 pounds. She was a very big baby. We were like, 'Just take her out.' "

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

She revealed that doctors were able to stabilize her daughter and Simpson later gave birth to Birdie via cesarean section March 19, 2019. Birdie is Simpson's youngest child with husband Eric Johnson. The couple also share daughter Maxwell Drew, 9, and son Ace Knute, 8.

Simpson previously discussed the experience in her memoir, Open Book, admitting the bronchitis made it "kind of the pregnancy from hell."

In September, the singer and actress revealed that Birdie hit a big milestone, sharing a cute anecdote of how the toddler had asked to go to preschool alongside a sweet family photo taken on the first day of class.

In the picture, Simpson and Johnson can be seen beaming on the front steps of their home as Birdie wears a backpack on her shoulders.

"Little Miss Birdie is the BOSS," Simpson began in the caption of her Instagram post. "She says 'I want school right now please' We say 'Ummm you are only 2 Bird' She says 'I want my teacher.' "

Despite the family's attempts to convince Birdie that she should "wait a little bit longer" before starting classes, the little one insisted on attending preschool right away, according to Simpson.

"She says 'I not a baby, I go to school now,' " the fashion designer continued. "We say 'Well you are our baby' She says 'No yous are my babies, let's go' and off we went sprinting to catch up."

"It was an emotional and happy morning," Simpson added of seeing Birdie off to her lessons. "I think I'm in a bit of shock at the moment. Gosh darn #BIRDIEMAE is in Pre-School 😭💚😭💚."

Want to get the biggest stories from PEOPLE every weekday? Subscribe to our new podcast, PEOPLE Every Day, to get the essential celebrity, entertainment and human interest news stories Monday through Friday.

Weeks later, the mom of three shared a photo of all her kids smiling together on their front porch before school, calling them her "best friends."

The Open Book author previously spoke about her family's homeschooling situation in August 2020, telling Self, "We teach our children morals and values and how to be kind and sincere and genuine. But, oh my gosh, doing third-grade math nowadays is like doing it in seventh grade."