Many people love following the lives of celebrities. However, not everyone is able to understand this obsession with reality TV and people caring about the everyday lives of the rich and famous. There are many different reasons that people obsess over the lives of these people. One of the main reasons for most is that they find comfort in knowing that these people aren’t perfect.
While many celebrities have success and money that most people can’t dream about, it can be a comfort to know that these people struggle in familiar ways. For expectant mothers, hearing how celebrities made it through difficult births can make them feel like they can handle it, should they face difficulties themselves.
Many celebrity mothers have shared their stories about a difficult birth. Hopefully, for anyone going through the aftermath of a rough pregnancy, these stories can help let you know that you are not alone.
Zoe Saldana
In 2014 Saldana gave birth to twin boys, Bowie and Cy. It was a harrowing experience for the Guardians of the Galaxy actress. Her health began to fail two months before her due date, and doctors were forced to perform a C-section. Saldana says that she delivered the twins while under general anesthetic as she did not qualify for an epidural.
The twins had to spend time in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), and the new mother wasn’t even able to meet her new babies until the day after the birth. Fortunately, both twins and mother ended up coming through the experience healthy, and Saldana ended up having another son, Zen, in a more routine birth, in 2017.
Linda Cardellini
When giving birth to her daughter Lilah in 2012, Cardellini had an especially difficult pregnancy with multiple complications stacked on top of each other. At nine months pregnant, she got an infection, which included double pneumonia. As a result, both of her eardrums burst, and her face became paralyzed.
Then when in labor, the doctors began to lose Lilah’s heart rate as Linda’s dropped as well, which forced them to perform an emergency C-section.
She also had complications with an epidural, which compromised her breathing. As if all of that was not enough, the umbilical cord became wrapped around her daughter’s neck. Thankfully, despite all of the difficulties, Lilah was born happy and healthy, and Cardellini regained her health as well.
Beyoncé
When megastar Beyoncé gave birth to her twins Rumi and Sir in 2017, the experience was not an easy one. The singer went through pre-eclampsia at the end of her pregnancy. Pre-eclampsia is characterized by a sharp rise in blood pressure, large amounts of protein leaking into the urine, and swelling in the hands, feet, and face.
After a month on bed rest, and due to the danger to her health and the health of her children, doctors performed an emergency C-section. The babies were delivered but weren’t out of the woods yet. They spent several weeks in the NICU before being released to return home, all in good health.
Anna Faris
In 2012, when Faris and then-husband Chris Pratt were expecting the birth of their son, they went through the frightening experience of having him come two months early. The first 30 weeks of the pregnancy went smoothly, but then one morning, her water broke long far too early. When she arrived at the hospital, she was pumped with magnesium to halt the labor.
The magnesium worked for the moment, but doctors informed her that she would have to remain in the hospital until the baby was born, and she was put on bed rest. A week later, she went into labor that she says was so painful that she was barely able to speak. On top of the pain, she was informed that she might not be able to hold her child immediately following the birth.
Following the successful delivery of her son Jack, as he continued to fight for life, Faris spent her days pumping milk that was fed to him through a tube up his nose.
While waiting for their son to build his strength in the NICU, the new parents were informed that he had severe bleeding in his brain and may be developmentally disabled. However, the doctors wouldn’t be able to say for sure until he was a year and a half old. When finally released to go home, little Jack still only weighed four pounds, three ounces, and had daily doctor appointments with a wide range of specialists.
Fortunately, this story too has a happy ending. Despite all of the difficulties that he had faced, Jack made it through with only minor leg muscle and vision problems.
After a Difficult Birth
Anyone who has gone through an experience like those above knows that they are the most frightening events of your life. Everyone wants their child to be born happy and healthy, and anything else is terrifying to have to face. If you have gone through a difficult birth that resulted in a birth injury to your child, you might want to consult with a birth injury lawyer.
