Stars Who Shared Their Intimate Childbirth Stories
The miracle of giving birth is something that many celebrities tend to keep private — which is understandable. Constantly being in the spotlight can be a strain on any new parent, so several stars have chosen to keep everything from their pregnancy and childbirth experiences to their newborn's names and appearances ultra secretive. Celeb couples like Alexis Bledel and her husband, Vincent Kartheiser, kept their pregnancy and the birth of their son hidden for months in 2015 — until Bledel's former Gilmore Girls costar, Scott Patterson, spilled the beans to Glamour. (Oops!) As of this writing, Bledel has barely opened up about motherhood, and fans still haven't learned the child's name or seen any photos of him, per Pop Sugar.
These stealthy Hollywood parents are super impressive, to say the least. But in all honesty, who doesn't love to read about a new celeb mom's story? There's somewhat of a connection between "regular" mothers and Hollywood moms, because they've been through the same pain, joy, and miracles of childbirth. On this side of the spectrum, we have Chrissy Teigen, who's so in touch with her fans because of how honest, open, and real she is about pretty much everything, including graphic details of her pregnancies and births.
Let's take a look at who else in showbiz has had memorable and intimate childbirth stories that they just couldn't wait to share with the world.
Kourtney Kardashian helped pull her children out while in labor
Keeping Up With the Kardashians star Kourtney Kardashian is the mother of three children — son Mason (born in 2009), daughter Penelope (2012), and son Reign (2014) — whom she shares with ex-boyfriend Scott Disick. The reality star has been very open about her pregnancies, especially when she gave birth to her first child.
While opening up to People, Kourtney revealed that she pulled her eldest son out herself during delivery, saying, "The experience was so indescribable and life-changing, and I can't believe he's all mine." The moment was even captured during the Season 4 finale of the KarJenners' hit E! show, which showed momager Kris Jenner and sisters Kim and Khloé Kardashian in the delivery room, looking on as Kourtney reached out to grab her newborn, "[bringing] Mason into the world herself," as People described it.
The proud mom kept the tradition going, and in the show's seventh season finale, Kourtney was seen pulling out baby No. 2, per the Daily News. In an interview with Us Weekly, Kourtney explained, "She was coming out, and I was thinking, I should pull her out. With Mason, I had no idea I was going to do that. This time, I thought, this is what I'm supposed to do." At the time, Khloé joked in the delivery room, "Kourtney just loves to pull out her own children." According to People, Kourtney did not televise her childbirth experience with Reign.
Jessica Alba's daughter was still in the amniotic sac when she arrived
Actor Jessica Alba and her husband, Cash Warren, had an exceptionally unusual childbirth experience when their second child was delivered inside the amniotic sac in 2011, according to People. "Amniotic sac helmet births are rare," Dr. Amos Grunebaum told CNN. This means that the sac can sometimes get "stuck" on a newborn's head. However, as the OB-GYN shared with babyMed, "Being born with a 'en-caul' (meaning having an infant born within the entire amniotic sac), is even more rare, occurring in fewer than 1 in 80,000 births." This was the case for Alba.
As such, the famous parents experienced a true "phenomenon" while welcoming their daughter, Haven. "I was in the middle of pushing and he told me not to push," Alba later told OK! magazine. "... The sac burst on its own after she came out. It was a trip." The Fantastic Four star went on to share that it was actually her husband who came up with their child's clever moniker following the childbirth experience. "When I was in recovery we still hadn't chosen her name," Alba said (via Today), adding that Warren later "picked her up and said she came into the world in her 'safe haven' and [her name] clicked right then for both of us."
Alba and Warren are also parents to daughter Honor (born in 2008) and son Hayes (2017).
Mariah Carey wanted her own music playing while she gave birth to her twins
In perhaps one of her most diva-like moments, singer Mariah Carey gave birth to her girl-boy twins, Monroe and Moroccan — whom she shares with ex-husband Nick Cannon — while listening to her own catalogue in 2011. While Cannon and Carey aren't together anymore, having filed for divorce in 2014 after six years of marriage (via USA Today), Cannon recalled Carey's specific demands during a 2017 appearance on The Wendy Williams Show.
Revealing that Carey "shut the whole hospital down," Cannon told host Wendy Williams, "When they were born, she made me play her music as they was coming out. It was a fantasy! They was dancing to 'Fantasy.'" Cannon has publicly spoken amount his former wife's surprising childbirth experience request many times, even stating on The Gayle King Show (via People) that it was a live version of "Fantasy" performed at Madison Square Garden — meaning their babies "came out to a round of applause."
As of this writing, the Wild 'n Out host has been keeping extremely busy being a dad to not only the twins he shares with Carey, but also two other children with girlfriend Brittany Bell: a son named Golden (born in 2017), and daughter Powerful Queen (born in December 2020). While Carey and Cannon are open about their amicable co-parenting situation, per Variety, there's no word yet on whether Bell made Cannon make a music playlist for her deliveries.
Katie Holmes welcomed Suri Cruise silently
Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes were the most talked about celebrity couple when they began dating in 2005. The Mission: Impossible actor infamously "gushed" about his love for the Dawson's Creek star on The Oprah Winfrey Show, jumping up and down on her couch, yelling, "I'm in love." According to People, the two announced their engagement shortly after, Holmes became a Scientologist, and by that October, they revealed they were expecting a child together.
But before Holmes gave birth to their daughter, Suri, in April 2006, there where a number of headlines that suggested the actor had to have a "silent birth." According to Scientology Parent, this means that the "labor and delivery are done in a calm and loving environment and with no spoken words by everyone attending as much as possible."
To clear up rumors that Holmes herself would need to be quiet while giving birth to their daughter, and would even be given a "special pacifier" to help keep mum, Cruise sat down with Diane Sawyer. "It's basically just respecting the mother, you know, and helping to be quiet — not the mother," he shared. "The mother makes as much noise ... But why have other people make noise? You know, you want that area very calm and to make it very special." According to People, the birth of Suri went "smoothly."
Seth Meyers' wife, Alexi Ashe, gave birth in the couple's apartment lobby
There are countless stories of moms-to-be delivering their babies in subways and taxi cabs — and Saturday Night Live alum Seth Meyers' wife, Alexi Ashe, unfortunately couldn't make it in time to the hospital, either. In April 2018, she welcomed the couple's second child in their New York City apartment lobby. On his show, Late Night with Seth Meyers, the following day, the comedian dished about the early arrival.
"We're in the lobby and we're walking down the steps, and my wife just says, 'I can't get in the car. I'm going to have the baby right now, the baby is coming,'" he shared. "I'm just trying to calm her down. Again, I know, 'cause I've been through exactly one birth." Meyers also jokingly recounted his 911 call, stating, "Over the course of a minute of a conversation, I basically said, 'We're about to have a baby, we're having a baby, we had a baby.' I went from someone calling in about an emergency to sharing good news with a stranger."
Meyers and Ashe named their son Axel Strahl, revealing that baby No. 2's middle name is in honor of Ashe's grandparents, who were "liberated from a concentration camp and met in Austria the next day," according to Today. The headline-making childbirth story would later serve as inspiration for Meyers' Netflix standup special, Lobby Baby.
Mayim Bialik's eldest son watched while she gave birth to her second child at home
In a personal post for her Kveller blog, actress Mayim Bialik shared her heartfelt childbirth story of her second son, whom she chose to deliver at her home in 2008, while her then-three-year-old son, Miles, witnessed everything "from his high chair." In her article, The Big Bang Theory star revealed that it was important that her son watch his new baby brother's birth, because "it was a beautiful and organic extension of our [Bialik and her then-husband, Michael Stone] parenting philosophy: to let our children experience the world as it is, without being ruled by the fear of 'What if?'"
Bialik wrote that before her second son, Frederick, was born, she also made Miles watch a birthing video so that he wouldn't find it "gross" or "weird" — and surprisingly, it went better than the parents expected. While in labor, her eldest son sat in his highchair and "calmly ate a bowl of granola" as his brother was welcomed into the world. Miles even helped cut the umbilical cord, before giving it back to dad to "finish the job."
Since the birth of Frederick, Bialik has been vocal about encouraging expecting mothers to consider home births. In a 2011 article for Today, she wrote, "Home birth is right for people who want to take natural birth to the next level."
Teyana Taylor gave birth in her bathroom
Both Teyana Taylor and her NBA star husband, Iman Shumpert's, children — daughters Iman Tayla Jr. and Rue Rose — were born in the couple's bathroom, according to CNN. During the couple's first pregnancy in 2015, Billboard reports that their daughter arrived three weeks before her expected due date, leading to a quick childbirth experience in their bathroom, where Shumpert was there to catch the baby "with his own bare hands."
Taylor's second pregnancy would be no different. When Shumpert announced the birth of baby No. 2, Rue Rose, on Instagram in September 2020, he shared, "Now...when we buy homes, we always find a bathroom with great energy...but not in a million years would you be able to tell me we'd deliver both of our daughters in a bathroom without the assistance of a hospital!" The athlete added, "Our newest edition entered the world in the water and came out looking around and ready to explore."
For her part, it appears as though Taylor insisted that her second child be an at-home birth, telling Nick Cannon in a Power 106 interview, "I don't know if I want to go to the hospital for this next baby." However, she went on to quip, "I'ma make sure it's not on the toilet or the bathroom floor."
Kelly Preston believed her silent birth contributed to her children's personalities
John Travolta and his late wife, Kelly Preston, have long been considered Hollywood's biggest Scientologists (aside from Tom Cruise, of course). About a decade before her tragic death of breast cancer-related complications in July 2020, Preston opened up about the religion's practice of having a silent birth during an interview for the Today show.
According to the Scientology website, while mothers in labor "can make noises," they basically want to hear a pin drop while in labor to "give their baby the best possible start in life and thus keeping the birth as quiet as possible." This approach apparently worked well for Preston. While Marie Claire notes that she was effectively "banned from speaking" during the birth of their third child, son Benjamin, in 2010, the actor herself told Today, "It's just no words as much as possible. If you need to moan, if you cry out, and all of that, of course, is normal. But just bringing them in as peaceful and gentle a way as possible."
Noting that this practice "can come back to affect you later in your life," Preston added that her children "have always been amazing, just very calm, very peaceful, happy, and I absolutely know that it's very much because of that."
Matthew McConaughey jammed to Brazilian music during his wife's delivery
Actor Matthew McConaughey wanted to help his wife, Camila Alves, in any way he could when she was in the delivery room to welcome the couple's first son, Levi, in 2008. The Dazed and Confused star shared their eldest child's birth story with Ok! Magazine (via HUFFPOST), revealing that he played DJ while Alves was pushing out the baby. "We found a great rhythm. Contractions started kicking in. I sat with her, between her legs. We got tribal on it, we danced to it! I was DJ-ing this Brazilian music. We were jamming!"
The proud dad shared that his wife planned to have a natural birth, but ended up needing an epidural for the safety of the baby, and their son was born via C-section. The Hollywood stars also waited to find out the sex of their child, with McConaughey gushing, "I said, 'Come here, little man.' I saw the pecker and screamed that we'd been right all along about him being a boy.'"
When it came to choosing their son's name, McConaughey later revealed on Good Morning America that he choose Levi, because it is "another name for Matthew in the Bible," adding that his favorite Bible verse is Matthew 6:22. Shockingly, this was the same time their son was born.
Amy Poehler's OB-GYN died a day before she went into labor
Actor and comedian Amy Poehler did not have a relaxing or calming pregnancy experience when she was carrying her eldest son, Archie, in October 2008, whom she shares with former husband Will Arnett. Not only did the Parks and Recreation star work on 15 Saturday Night Live shows during the last few months of her pregnancy with her first born, but her OB-GYN died just a day before her due date, according to an excerpt from her Yes, Please book (via Vulture).
Understandably, the tragic news of her doctor's death left the very pregnant star "bursting into tears" while she was in hair and makeup for SNL's dress rehearsal. However, the show's host that week, Mad Men star Jon Hamm, came to her rescue in a roundabout way. "Jon Hamm held me by the shoulders and looked at me and said, 'I know this is very sad, but this is a really important show for me, so I'm going to need you to get your s**t together,'" Poehler wrote in her book. "This made me laugh so hard I think I peed."
Thankfully, all went well for the actor after she gave birth to Archie the following day (just a handful of hours before that week's live show). In August 2010, Poehler and Arnett welcomed their second son, Abel — and thankfully, Poehler's new OB-GYN was alive and well to witness the birth.
Gisele Bundchen said her first childbirth experience 'wasn't painful'
Brazilian model Gisele Bündchen already makes women envious with her gorgeous looks, but she undoubtedly made moms-to-be green with envy when she revealed her surprising pain level while giving birth to her first child with husband Tom Brady, Benjamin, in 2009. "It wasn't painful, not even a little bit," the former Victoria's Secret Angel revealed in an interview with Brazil's television show Fantastico (according to an English translation by People). "The whole time, my head was focused — every contraction, the baby is closer, the baby is closer. So, it wasn't like, 'Oh, what pain.' It was, 'With every contraction, he is getting closer to me.'"
Not only did Bündchen apparently feel no pain, this real-life Wonder Woman also didn't use pain medication during her water birth, the outlet notes. "I wanted to be conscious and present for what was happening," the model shared. Bündchen also seemingly had the help of her NFL star husband to get right back into shape, too, as she was soon "walking, washing dishes, and making pancakes in the kitchen."
In 2012, Bündchen welcomed the couple's second child, a daughter named Vivian Lake, at home, too, according to ABC News Radio.
Chrissy Teigen's childbirth story got a little graphic — but for good reason
Chrissy Teigen isn't one to shy away from the truth and always tells it like it is — just look at her Twitter account. Years after the 2016 birth of her first child with musician husband John Legend, daughter Luna, the model shared her childbirth story in detail in an attempt to shut down those who were "complain[ing] about the coronavirus swab test being painful," according to Insider.
In March 2020, Teigen responded to a tweet with, "My vagina was ripped to my a**hole giving birth to Luna. I had a vaga**hole. f**k your swab pain." She added, "They had to put a garbage bag at the end of the bed to collect my blood before stitching me up, where I then had to pee using a water bottle as a pain fountain for 3 months. So yeah, the swab, I bet it's super rough."
Teigen and Legend, who tragically lost their third child, son Jack, in September 2020, also share a son named Miles — who was born premature in 2018, weighing just 4 pounds, 8 ounces, per Today. In true Teigen fashion, she took to Twitter to make light about her son's tiny shape that June, writing, "nothing fits my teenie preemie. not enough stuff out there! I gotta learn to sew. miles is tired of your body shaming, society!" Teigen's tweets may not flatter everyone, but we love her for keeping it all real.