As home births become increasingly popular, more and more celebrity moms are opting to have their babies in the comforts of their own home.
From the arrival of Jennifer Connelly and Paul Bettany’s newest addition, daughter Agnes Lark, born via home birth, to Gisele Bündchen and Tom Brady’s son Benjamin born at their home in December 2009, to Alyson Hannigan and Alexis Denisof’s now 2-year-old daughter Satyana born at home, the celebs are joining the trend!
Celebrity Baby Scoop interviewed recent parents about their experiences.
Let’s take a look at 10 celebrities who had home births.
Jennifer Connelly:
The latest celebrity to join in the home birth craze is Academy Award-winning actress Jennifer Connelly. The 40-year-old actress and husband, fellow actor Paul Bettany, welcomed daughter Agnes Lark Bettany in their New York City home on May 31. Baby Agnes was born via planned home water birth in a birthing pool.
Everyone is healthy and doing well,” Jennifer’s rep said. “The family is very excited.”
Erykah Badu:
R&B singer Erykah Badu has given birth to all three of her children – Seven Sirius, now 13, Puma Sabit, now 6, and Mars Merkaba, now 2 – at home. The ‘First Lady of Neo-Soul’ opened up about her home birthing experience:
I had all my children at home, naturally,” Erykah said. “First my son [Seven Sirius] was born at home in 1997, because that’s the natural environment, the old way. There’s not a lot of fuss and moving around. I had a very wise doula and midwives giving me the freedom to continue living my life. I didn’t have to uproot myself… Maybe to some it’s scary, but preparation is the whole key. When a mother has found out she’s going to have a baby, her whole life — her diet, her mood, her energy — should kind of prepare her. After she prepares herself, fear is never a part of it. I expected success and health, so I made sure I surrounded myself with it. By the time I had my third baby, childbirth seemed a very natural part of life to me.”
Gisele Bündchen:
One of the latest celeb moms to give birth naturally – and possibly the most outspoken on the topic – is supermodel Gisele Bündchen. The Victoria’s Secret model gave birth to her first child, Benjamin, in December, 2009 and has openly spoken about her drug-free and pain-free home water birth.
My delivery was in a bath tub, in water,” Gisele said. “I wanted to have a home birth. 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, so I managed to have a very tranquil birth at home. It didn’t hurt in the slightest. The whole time my mind was focused in each contraction on the thought ‘my baby is closer to coming out.’”
A few weeks later the supermodel looked svelte on the cover of Vogue and spoke of her “empowered” birth experience.
I wanted to experience the transformation,” the model mom said. “It was the most amazing experience of my life, feeling him come through my body. And once he was born, I never felt so empowered as looking at him and thinking, Oh, my God, we did it together!”
The Brazilian beauty later wrote on her blog:
I am blessed to have been able to have a home birth surrounded by love, where I was able to feel safe,” she wrote. “It was a powerful experience. I never felt so vulnerable but so strong at the same time. It was amazing to experience my body become free to do what it was made to do by allowing my mind and my body to let go and be free to experience the changes taking place within… I was just there… focusing on my breathing and relaxing the best that I could… so present, to witness the biggest miracle in my life happen before my very own eyes. To give life to another being, what a gift!”
Kaitlin Olson:
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia star Kaitlin Olson and her costar hubby Rob McElenney welcomed their first child, son Axel Lee, on September 1, 2010.
Kaitlin gave birth to their son in the comforts of their home just as her own mother welcomed her. The actress said she is “incredibly grateful to have access to Western medicine” but “[doesn’t] think that childbirth is a medical problem that needs intervention unless there is a complication.”
I decided on a home birth because I believe that as long as a pregnancy is normal and complication-free, your body knows what to do and does not need medical intervention. I think the key to having a baby naturally is being able to completely relax and get out of the way of your body’s ability to get the job done.”
She admitted, however, that her decision to give birth at home came with “a lot of mixed reactions.”
“Most of our friends have been very supportive because they know us well enough to know that we are the kind of people who do our research and make informed decisions,” she explained. “The people who panic and think we are crazy are the ones who haven’t done any research themselves.”
I don’t blame them though,” she added. “We aren’t really taught much about childbirth and labor in America. On TV and in movies, most of what you see on the subject are women screaming in pain and a lot of emergency c-sections. The fact of the matter is that countries whose standard is for women to deliver their babies at home with midwives have the lowest complication, intervention and infant fatality rates.”
Maria Bello:
Actress Maria Bello said she “can’t imagine giving birth in a sterile environment like a hospital,” and that’s one reason that she labored with son Jackson Blue, now 10, in her bed. The mom-of-one shared that during the “22 hours of labor,” she “had a midwife and a thunderstorm with nothing more than an aspirin.” Although there were “times where I wanted to say, ‘Get the ambulance — I’m done,’” Maria told herself she could get through it
Nelly Furtado:
Canadian songstress Nellie Furtado is a self-proclaimed “hippie mom” and has opened up about the birth of her daughter Nevis in September 2003. The 32-year-old mom-of-one – who has written/sang hits such as I’m like a Bird and Maneater – proudly said, “I had a home birth with midwives.”
Cindy Crawford:
Model mom-of-two Cindy Crawford had both of her children – son Presley, now 11, and daughter Kaia, now 9 – at home with her husband Rande Gerber and three midwives on hand. She spoke of the home birth experience:
I didn’t tell anyone last time because a lot of people are against home birth and tell you horror stories. Even my husband said at first, ‘Why are we doing this?’” But she went on to say her home birth was ‘absolutely surreal.’”
Pamela Anderson:
Former Baywatch babe and Playboy model, Pamela Anderson, gave birth to both of her sons – Brandon, now 15, and Dylan, now 13 – at home, with a midwife, without any drugs. The 43-year-old Canadian native talked about her water birth with talk show host Larry King:
I gave birth at home both times–natural–with a midwife, in water…with nothing. Not even Tylenol.”
Alyson Hannigan:
Alyson Hannigan has quickly become one of our favorite celebrity moms since the birth of her first child, Satyana, in March 2009. Celebrity Baby Scoop sat down with the 37-year-oldHow I Met Your Mother star and asked about her drug-free home birth:
Yes. I did use a midwife and a doula. We had the option of having a doctor there, but even he said you’ll only need me if you need to be transferred to the hospital–which thankfully, I did not need.”
Mayim Bialik:
Mayim Bialik has really ‘blossomed’ into an amazing and outspoken mother! An advocate of attachment parenting, Mayim also empowers women to consider medication-free home births. The 35-year-old mother-of-two and star of The Big Bang Theory talked to Celebrity Baby Scoop about her birth stories.
I think the ultimate message is that for those that want to have a natural birth; there are ways to do it successfully and healthily. It is beneficial to the mother and the baby. I refuse to give in to a set of beliefs that makes women afraid of their bodies and birth. I have been very open about our birth stories; my first son was born in a hospital after a weekend of labor at home, but I didn’t use any pain medication and my second son was born at home unassisted until pushing, with my almost 3 year old watching the whole thing from his highchair. It has been documented that most births can proceed successfully if left uninterrupted and without medical “interventions” – but you need to be surrounded by a community that understands that birth doesn’t progress a centimeter an hour.
That’s not normal nor has it ever been.”
The list goes on…
Ricki Lake’s documentary about home birth, The Business of Being Born, empowered women everywhere to have unmedicated births at home. She gave birth to her second son Owen, now 10, at home in a bathtub
In September 2007, British singing sensation Charlotte Church gave birth to her daughter Ruby at her home in Wales. The then-21-year-old singer bought a birthing pool for the delivery which was attended by two midwives.
Other celebrities who have birthed at home include Lisa Bonet, best known for her role as Denise Huxtable on The Cosby Show, Academy Award-winning actress Meryl Streep, andGhost star Demi Moore who reportedly had all three of her children at home.
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