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She'd have been well within her rights to turn Scary Spice at the photographers - but was probably in too much pain.
The former Spice Girl was photographed obviously having contractions, her face contorted in a grimace, leaning on her husband Stephen Belafonte and a bodyguard for support as they entered the Cedars Sinai hospital in Beverley Hills in the early hours of the morning.
Unable to settle during the night, at 4am Mel had tweeted her husband was 'cooking me chicken and greens. I have the best hubby ever'. His cooking seemed to have done the trick - and just hours later she was heading for the hospital.
Earlier this week Mel - whose full name is Melanie Brown - gave a radio show a little bit too much information with her list of everything she had tried to induce labour.
She said: 'Ideally I want it to come naturally. 'But I've tried everything, I've tried the hot food, the running, the sex, the violence, I've tried it all. It just seems to be stuck and hibernating in there getting bigger and bigger, so it's coming out this week for sure.'
The 36-year-old singer and TV presenter has two daughters Phoenix Chi, 12, from her first marriage to dancer Jimmy Gulzar, and Angel, four, from her relationship with Eddie Murphy.
The sex of their first baby will be a surprise for Mel and TV producer Stephen.
We wish her all the very best.
UPDATE, UPDATE - Mel's baby is born
Celebrity birth stories
- Kate Winslet<p> Kate's first baby, Mia, was delivered by C-section in 2000. The actress says that she felt “traumatised” because she hadn’t given birth naturally. “I felt like a complete failure. My whole life, I’d been told I had great childbearing hips. There’s this thing amongst women in the world that if you can handle childbirth, you can handle anything. I had never handled childbirth, and I felt like, in some way that I couldn’t join that ‘powerful women’s club.’”</p>
- Kate Winslet<p> So when Kate was pregnant with her son, Joe, in 2003, she had her heart set on a vaginal delivery. “It was an amazing feeling having Joe naturally, vaginally,” she says. “I was in labour 24 hours and he came out completely beautifully. Fourteen hours with no drugs at all, but then I had to have an epidural because I was so tired. I honestly thought I’d never be able to do it. It was an incredible birth. It laid all the ghosts to rest.”</p>
- Dannii Minogue<p> Dannii had hoped for a home birth with Ethan in July 2010, but ended up having an emergency C-Section. She says: "We discovered he wasn't in the correct position... 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... 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.” She adds: “But when I held Ethan for the first time, the pain and worry melted away... It was wonderful."</p>
- Catherine Zeta Jones<p> The Academy Award-winning actress and mum-of-two has revealed that giving birth was easier the first time around. Catherine had her first child, Dylan in August 2000, and her second baby, Carys, in April 2003. She says: "I was OK with it the first time. It was the second time that was a different experience. I think I was more scared because I knew what was coming. I was like, 'Oh God, I know how painful it is'. First time I just went and did it."</p>
- Jools Oliver<p> The mum-of-four had an epidural with her first baby, Poppy, born in March 2002. "It was about three days' worth of drama,” she recalls. “It wasn't a natural birth, which is what I'd wanted originally. I had an epidural, but I was happy with the end result. I really enjoyed Poppy's birth because I didn't feel any pain. I didn't want an epidural, but I didn't realise the pain would be so powerful. In the end I just thought, 'Bring it all on'."</p>
- Angelina Jolie<p> Angelina, who had a C-section in May 2006 due to Shiloh being in a breech position, described the delivery as “fascinating.” She recalls: “We were in this little hospital in Africa when Shi was born. It was lovely, very personal. We had an American doctor with us, who had met the Namibian doctors, and they worked in tandem. I didn’t find it a sacrifice and I didn’t find it a painful experience. I found it a fascinating miracle of what a body can do.”</p> <p> </p>
- Thandie Newton<p> The actress opted for a water birth with both her daughters, Ripley, born in 2000, and Nico, born in 2004. She describes the experience of birthing in a pool as "very challenging in the best way possible.” She continues: “Every fibre of your being is alive. It’s like you are conducting electricity, literally creating something. I’d like to give birth every year if I could, just for that experience."</p>
- Gisele Bundchen<p> Supermodel Gisele Bundchen had a “tranquil” home water birth with baby Benjamin in December 2009. "My delivery was in a bath tub, in water,” she says. “I wanted to be very aware and present during the birth... I didn't want to be drugged up. So I did a lot of preparation, I did yoga and meditation.” She adds: "The whole time my mind was focused in each contraction on the thought 'my baby is closer to coming out'. It wasn't like 'this is so painful'. So I transformed that intense feeling into a hope of seeing him."</p>
- Jessica Alba<p> Jessica had her first baby, a girl named Honor Marie Warren, in June 7 2008. She describes feeling totally calm throughout the birth. "The labour was more like meditation. I did yoga breathing. I was focused. I didn't scream, “ she says. “It was really Zen." According to husband Cash Warren, "She didn't make a sound. It was amazing." Jessica is expecting again, so let’s hope the second birth goes just as well!</p>
- Christina Aguilera<p> The singer had an elective C-section with her first child, Max, in January 2008 as she “didn’t want any surprises.” She adds: “Honestly, I didn’t want any [vaginal] tearing. I had heard horror stories of women going in and having to have an emergency C-section [anyway]. The hardest part was deciding on his birthday. I wanted to leave it up to fate, but at the same time I was ready to be done early!”</p> <p> </p>
- Britney Spears<p> Britney also had a fear of giving birth vaginally, so had an elective C-section with Sean Preston in September 2005 and again with Jayden in September 2006. Prior to the birth, she told Elle magazine:“My mom said giving birth was the most excruciating thing that she’s ever gone through in her life. So if a caesarean doesn’t happen, I’ll be like, ‘Epidural, please!’”</p>
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