Ah, celebrities. Love them or hate them, they’re a big part of pop culture and the world today. While not all celebs are created equal, some have garnered quite a big following for themselves. If we’re being completely honest, who doesn’t have a celeb or two they wouldn’t mind bumping into?
I don’t know about you, but this momma isn’t spending too much time on Rodeo Drive these days. So, for now, my dreams of meeting Meryl Streep and Jenny McCarthy (what a combo, I know) are on hold.
But that doesn’t mean mommas like you and I can’t adore—or even idolize—these ladies from afar, and even learn a thing or two from them beyond the world of red carpets and winged eyeliner.
Should We Follow What Celebrities Do?
In short, of course not. Well, not just because they’re celebrities. Are they famous for something good or something not-so-good? Does it matter? Not really.
What matters is what works for you. Your favorite leading lady might have birthed six babies at home unassisted, but that doesn’t mean it’s your path, too. You’ll want to focus on real data when making that kind of decision. Weighing the pros and cons of birthing at home is the first step. Home birth is best suited for low-risk pregnancies, per a study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal. (Source)
Some sage advice? Figure out what you want your birth to look like first. Then, turn your attention to the Hollywood stars and what they’re up to.
Just What Are They Up To?
The public’s fascination with famous folks isn’t new. We’ve been practically stalking the stars of our favorite records, cinema features and more for years. In the last decade, the addition of social media into our everyday lives has offered us the opportunity to connect with celebs even more. I’ll never forget the day one of the Real Housewives replied to me on Facebook.
I digress. They’re just people! They really are just like you and I. They too felt the same wave of nerves and uneasiness when faced with the thought of childbirth. They too wondered why they were nervous about birth with their second and third when they’d already been down that road before. And they too look a little lackluster while riding the tidal wave of blissful emotions immediately postpartum—even if you never know it, all thanks to Photoshop.
Today’s celebrity moms are pushing birth to new heights. They’re all about sharing the details of the most intimate moments in their lives. They want their fans to feel the same euphoria and elation they did when they first met their newest little squish.
Which Celebrities Had Home Births?
So, who are these mogul mommas and what can they teach us about home birth?
1. Ricki Lake
While some of us knew her way back when she was just a part of the “drapes” crowd in CryBaby, others fell in love with Ricki Lake as the hostess with the mostest on her very own talk show.
But while we adored Ricki’s sense of humor in years gone by, and championed her weight loss efforts in front of the camera in the ’90s and early ’00s, we found a true kinship with her in 2008 when she starred in and co-produced the hit documentary The Business of Being Born.
Ricki is the down-to-earth celebrity we can all relate to. Better yet, she completely gets that deep connection we all crave, and she helped to shed light on that inner goddess in this docuseries in a way that no one had before.
Ricki gave birth to her son Owen in the comfort of her own home back in 2001. (Source) It was such a superior experience for her compared to the hospital birth of her son, Milo, a few years prior that it spurred her to become the birth advocate she is today. I think I speak for all of us when I say we are eternally grateful for the transformative experience that gave us Ricki, the birth mogul.
2. Gisele Bundchen
Full disclosure: Everyone was hating on Gisele and now-hubby, Tom Brady, (yes, that Tom Brady) back in 2006 when the pair were seen canoodling just weeks after Brady’s apparent split with ex, Bridget Moynahan, who was pregnant with Brady’s child at the time.
Honestly, though, how can we hold it against Gisele when she and Tom keep dishing out info on their lives that makes us totally fall for the power couple?
For instance, Tom has let on a few times that he sticks to a mostly plant-based and organic diet. (Source) A dad with health in mind? Major swoon factor, right? Just wait. It gets better.
It appears the NFL Quarterback was totally supportive of his Mrs, even when she decided to forge ahead with her home birth plans with baby Benjamin in 2009 after her doctor warned her not to do it. (Source) Daughter, Vivian Lake was also born in the couple’s bathtub in late 2012. (Source)
3. Hilary Duff
Hilary Duff first graced our consciousness as Disney’s Lizzie McGuire. She is just as cute and spunky today, and the woman she has evolved into has taught us all that we should aim to embrace motherhood a little more.
This busy career woman didn’t just find time to be a mom. She made time. While the headlines keep clamoring that she’s somehow lost from the limelight, painting it as a detriment to her career, Duff’s following seems as strong as ever, especially in light of her public announcements about her birth and parenting choices.
Baby Banks was welcomed into the world in a pool of warm water in October of 2019. Despite some concerns during labor about her progression and how difficult it was to do it naturally, Duff has since remarked she would “totally do it again.” (Source)
4. Gaby Hoffman
Ah, Gaby Hoffman. The actress joined the ranks of home birth mothers when she welcomed her daughter, Rosemary, in the fall of 2014 in her home. The Now and Then alum fell so deeply in love with the mechanics of birth and the team of doulas at her side during her own labor that she became a doula herself. (Source)
During an interview with Stephen Colbert in 2016, Hoffman noted, “I went to my niece’s birth 12 years ago, my sister had a home birth, and that’s when I became obsessed with home birth, specifically.” (Source)
Apparently, it was that experience that ignited a fire in Hoffman to pursue her own home birth.
Hoffman isn’t just a fan of childbirth itself though; she loves it in its most natural state. She also credited the consumption of her placenta to boosting both her energy levels and her milk supply. It turns out Gaby really is a Girl’s girl. (Source)
5. Jennifer Connelly
This actress’s days of praying a Goblin King would come rid her of a crying baby are long gone. Jennifer Connelly stepped gracefully into motherhood, and it’s a look that has suited her well.
She gave birth to her daughter, Agnes Lark in May of 2011. (Source) The actress had her hubby, Paul Bettany, by her side as she brought their first little girl earthside in the water.
6. Meryl Streep
If there was a Golden Globe for the best home birth, we imagine Meryl would probably sweep that category. Who else here wishes we could get that uncut footage?
All jokes aside, it’s not too surprising that Streep would opt for a home birth; she is a fairly good example of holistic living. After all, she:
- Loves swimming (Source)
- Eats an organic diet
- Helped launch the environmental group Mothers & Others
- Births at home!
Meryl has kept the detail of such close to the breast over the years, but it is said at least one of her four children were born at home. (Source)
7. Maya Rudolph
Suddenly, our brains struggle to wrap themselves around the idea of this funny girl being oh-so-serious in labor. Was she laughing her way through contractions? Are there plans for an SNL re-enactment?
In all seriousness, when Lucille Anderson—one of Rudolph’s four children—made her way onto the scene, she wasn’t at all concerned about what her mother had planned.
As it turns out, Maya wasn’t shooting for a home birth at all. But little Lucille just couldn’t wait to meet her proud parents. Rudolph remarked of her daughter, “Luckily, she just kind of glided into her father’s arms.” (Source)
8. Mayim Bialik
This Big Bang Theory star has found a way into parents’ hearts that Blossom fans never saw coming. Beyond being made for TV and holding a docorate in neuroscience, Mayim Bialik is the example of a mom who rides the fence. And she does it well.
While some mommas in the natural community may not agree with her controversial opinions on topics like circumcision and vaccines, most of us feel all the love for this celebrity mommy’s choice to birth at home.
Fed a stereotypical story by hospital staff during her first birth when she was told her body just might never cooperate for birth and may always need to be induced, many moms could relate to Mayim’s first birth experience. (Source)
A lot of mothers opt for home birth for a variety of reasons, including:
- A traumatic birth experience in the past
- Obstetrical abuse
- A desire to feel a deeper connection to their inner feminine divine
- Wanting to birth in the water
- Preferring a lay midwife to obstetricians or CNMs
- Desiring more privacy and intimacy during labor
It was that poor birth experience that led her to question her options the next time around and push for a better birth story. In 2008, Bialik birthed her second baby boy—named Frederick—in her own living room as big brother, Miles, looked on.
9. Erika Christensen
This starlet took things one step further from having a natural home birth to going unassisted. While I always like to make sure the credit for birthing a child is given to the momma, Dad was a big help in this case. He’s the one who caught baby girl Polly as she entered the world! (Source)
In June of 2018, Erika was quite vocal with fans about her plans for a home birth. (Source) As a Scientologist, a calm and peaceful environment during labor and birth was very important to Christensen. However, the birth transpired so rapidly that we aren’t quite sure if anything went as planned. Nonetheless, the family seemed to adore every last bit of their birth story.
10. Alanis Morissette
You oughta know Alanis is no angsty, ex-boyfriend hating loner anymore. She’s a mom of two—two kids that have taught her a great deal. One of the life lessons Morissette has learned as a mother was that birth is messy and not always idyllic.
Her first of two home births was accompanied by both a midwife and a doula as she welcomed her son, Ever, to the world back in 2011. She described that birth experience as being “beyond pain.” (Source)
But it was little sister Onyx that would really take the singer and her hubby, Mario Treadway—also known as Souleye—by surprise. Her 2016 home birth happened so swiftly that it qualifies as unassisted as well. (Source)
Alanis was quoted as saying, “It was terrifying, but then once we heard her, and once she cried [and] I pulled her up and she started breastfeeding, I was just like, ‘Ah,… It gets gnarlier and gnarlier. I think the words Texas Chainsaw Massacre were used when [my midwife and doula] walked in.” (Source)
11. Alyson Hannigan
This American Pie alum might be cracking us up on-screen, but her real-life role as a momma is far from anything she learned at band camp. Hannigan has given birth not once, but twice, in the comfort of familiar surroundings at home.
Her daughter Satyava was born at home in March of 2009. Little sis, Keeva, came along three years later. Alyson opened up to fans about her home birth experiences and it’s clear there’s no other way she’d ever want to do it. (Source)
Like many of us, Alyson didn’t want to give birth in a hospital. That wasn’t a place she felt comfortable in. While it’s become the modern-day norm for women to birth in hospitals, with only 1.28 percent of mothers choosing home birth, more and more women are questioning whether they want to welcome their children into the world in a building full of sick and terminally ill people. (Source)
Although Alyson admitted she and her husband fielded lots of commentary about their choice to birth at home the first time around, she stood confident in her choice when pregnant with her second daughter that they would take the same route to parenthood. (Source)
12. Kehlani
In the most recent of headlines, singer Kehlani welcomed a baby girl, named Adela, in late March of 2019. Just past the Spring Equinox, her daughter entered this world and completely changed the landscape of the artist’s life. Kehlani was quoted as referencing her birth as the “hardest yet most powerful thing” she’d ever done on Twitter. (Source)
When the artist made that announcement to the world, not everyone gave a warm reception. Some took offense to the proclamation that home birth was the “hardest” or “most powerful” form of birth, taking Kehlani’s words quite literally. The artist addressed those comments with grace, noting she believes all forms of birth are “extremely hard and transformative.” (Source)
13. Evangeline Lilly
Birth isn’t a competition, and perhaps fans of Kehlani’s have learned that by now. But if it were a competition, Evangeline Lilly would be climbing the ranks in terms of what one woman can withstand. Enter, her 30-hour long home birth.
The Lost alum welcomed her first son in that marathon birth that lasted more than a day. (Source) Evangeline revealed during an interview with Jay Leno that eight of those 30 hours were spent pushing. Way to go, momma!
14. Demi Moore
Demi Moore shocked the world back in the summer of 1991 when she graced the front cover of Vanity Fair—pregnant, and completely nude. (Source) It was the magazine cover to end all magazine covers. She reframed the way women—and men—saw the pregnant form, and it didn’t stop there.
It was daughter, Rumer that came along to jumpstart the ’90s obsession with Moore, and her siblings Scout and Tallulah weren’t too far behind. All three of the Moore/Willis brood were born right into their momma’s arms at home. (Source)
15. Kelly Preston
Actress and the wife to the legendary John Travolta, Kelly Preston has had no qualms about going public with the in’s and out’s of her family life over the years. The couple’s daughter, Ella Bleu was birthed in the family home way back in the year 2000. (Source)
16. Julianne Moore
Little baby girl Liv entered this world in 2002 without so much as a blink of fluorescent lighting or clang of an obstetrical instrument in her way. (Source)
Julianne has remained pretty tight-lipped about the experience over the years, but we’re thinking it was far more of a peaceful experience than her character portrayals let on in films like Nine Months and Chloe.
17. Evan Rachel Wood
While she’s certainly not the only celeb mom who’s given credit where credit was due, Evan Rachel Wood went above and beyond to thank fellow natural home birther Ricki Lake on Twitter for the birth inspiration. (Source)
The actress stated of her birth to her son, Jack Matfin Bell, “I never knew I had a choice when it came to labor. It taught me so much & aided my decision in having a natural home birth which my son & I are now forever grateful for.” (Source)
This is likely a statement many of us can relate to, and it leads us to question:
If every woman was aware of the option to birth in this manner, would more women be choosing to have home births?
18. Lisa Bonet
Can we just shed some light on the beauty that is Lisa Bonet here for a moment? This momma deserves a lot more credit than what The Cosby Show gives her in syndication.
First, she married rockstar Lenny Kravitz and birthed their daughter Zoe at home. Down the road, she married the widely-adored Jason Momoa and also birthed their daughter Lola at home. (Source) Major props, momma!
19. Pamela Anderson
When most of us hear the name Pamela Anderson, we don’t tend to think of childbirth, but Pam has made quite the name for herself in the home birth circuit. While many of today’s moms tend to think home birth is a more modern trend, Pamela was doing it before we knew it was cool.
Anderson gave birth to both of her sons via water births at home. (Source) From the time she first got pregnant, she became deeply interested in giving her children a better upbringing than she had herself. From opting out of some vaccines and keeping her boys intact to birthing in the water with a midwife by her side, Pamela has shown the world there’s a lot more substance to her than we may have given her credit for. (Source)
20. Stacy Kiebler
Ava Grace Pobre was born in August of 2014 following momma, Stacy Kiebler’s, 19-hour labor. The length wasn’t something the former pro wrestler expected, and she likely could never have predicted the bond she would share with her daughter ever since.
Stacy said of the birth with her daughter that it “felt like we went to war together.” (Source) Many mommas who have birthed at home would likely agree. In the summer of 2018, Kiebler and her hubby, Jared, welcomed a son, Bodhi Brooks. He was also born at home. (Source)
21. Cindy Crawford
Many of today’s mommas grew up idolizing this modeling maven. Who here ever used their eyeliner to fake a “beauty mark?” I digress; Cindy gave birth to both of her children at home. Following years of silence on the topic, she opened up about her births back in 2011.
Crawford revealed she wasn’t immediately drawn to natural childbirth; it took a wise yoga teacher’s words of wisdom to open her to eyes to the idea of there being any other way to birth but on your back in a hospital bed.
Cindy shared one of her favorite parts of her story is that when people ask who delivered her babies, she gets to say “I did.” (Source)
22. Erykah Badu
This soulful songstress gave birth to all three of her children at home, but the love of natural childbirth didn’t stop there for Erykah Badu. (Source) In 2001, she was traveling through Europe when a dear friend went into labor. It was the helpful role she played in that friend’s birth story that led Badu to pursue becoming a doula.
In more recent years, she has enlisted herself in training to become a midwife, too! Kudos to this momma for her passionate commitment to change the birthing landscape, particularly for women of color. (Source)
Labor Is Your Time To Shine
Momma, don’t forget that you are a celebrity in your own world. Your loved ones are cheering you on and anxiously awaiting the news that your new(est) bundle of joy has arrived with all ten fingers and all ten toes.
Don’t shy away from reclaiming the feminine power you were born with. It is there, within you. No red carpets or makeup artists necessary, though you wouldn’t be the first momma to plaster on some BB cream and mascara before snapping that first social media-worthy photo.
The point is, this birth is your’s and it will be fleeting. Make the most of it in whatever way most resonates with you. Deciding to have a home birth is half the battle, but now you may be questioning, are you ready to have a home birth?
Why You Should Have A Home Birth Too
Home birth has consistently been shown by several studies to be safe for low-risk pregnancies. (Source) Studies also demonstrate that women who birth at home tend to require fewer interventions during their births. (Source)
Got a water birth a la Gisele Bundchen in mind? Don’t forget all the essentials. Further, make sure you’re prepared mentally and emotionally. Natural childbirth is an exquisite experience but is still one best endured while prepared with coping mechanisms for pain management.
Ready? Great! Grab your phone or camcorder. The stage is set; lights, camera, action!
