Famecrawler
9 Celebrity Moms Who Opted For Natural Childbirth

Natural childbirth is not for everyone. Some happily opt for the epidural, others decide that a C-section is the way to go. But others embrace the old-school way of birthin’ babies and have their kids at home and/or without the aid of pain meds.
Here is a list of nine celebrity moms who had their babies the “natural” old-fashioned way!
Gisele Bundchen
Gisele just had her son Benjamin in early December and not only did she deliver her baby at home, without drugs but it “didn’t hurt in the slightest.” She told the Brazilian TV channel Fantasticoshe that, “my delivery was in a bath tub, in water, 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.” She continued to say, “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.”

Idina Menzel
The star of stage and screen delivered her baby (with husband Taye Diggs) without any drugs at all. Taye said that his wife “was a warrior” during her labor that lasted about seven or eight hours.

Nicole Richie
One site said that the mom of two popped “not even an aspirin” during childbirth with both her children, Harlow and Sparrow. But another said she had an epidural…who knows? But Nicole did say the birth of Harlow was “really mellow.” Yeah, maybe she did get some medicines to help with the pain but her labor was only about 10 minutes so maybe not! (source)

Jessica Alba
Josh Alba, Jessica’s brother, dished that Jessica opted to have a “all natural” childbirth and said everything “went really well.” Jessica herself said that during her daughter’s birth, “I didn’t scream. It was really Zen.” She continued to say, “the labor was more like meditation,” she says. “I did yoga breathing. I was focused.” Source and Source

Joely Fisher
With Joely’s second child – True Harlow – she said, “I decided to have her at home and had a lot of friends around and of course her father was there. And of course, the doctor, the doula, the midwife, the butcher, baker and candlestick maker.”

Halle Berry
This A-lister reportedly had a long natural birth but not at home. Nahla was born at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

Maria Bello
The actress Maria Bello said she “can’t imagine giving birth in a sterile environment like a hospital.” That is why the actress opted to give birth to her son Jackson (who’d now eight) at home and in her own bed. During her 22 hours of labor she “had a midwife and a thunderstorm with nothing more than an aspirin.” She said there were times where I wanted to say, ‘Get the ambulance — I’m done,’” but she thought, “I can do anything for 24 hours,” and the delivery took almost 24 hours.

Ricki Lake
Ricki believes so much in home births that she produced a documentary on The Business of Being Born that takes on the contrast between home and hospital births. The film included the filming of her very own home birth.

Melissa Joan Hart
This Sabrina the Teenage Witch alum’s son Braydon was born without the assistance of any drugs and was completely natural. It helped that he was 7 pounds 3 ounces whereas her first son Mason was 9 pounds. A little bit easier to say the least!
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8 Comments
Blue commented on Feb 02 10 at 3:41 pmWhat’s with the aspirin mention? Isn’t it a no-no to have aspirin while pregnant or breastfeeding (or, presumably, in labor) because of Reye’s syndrome?
Shaz commented on Feb 03 10 at 5:33 amThis was good to know, i would also like to know more about celebrities who opted for natural births and those who opted for c-sections. Great post :)
Ondine commented on Feb 03 10 at 6:55 amYou make it sound like a simple personal choice to “opt” for natural childhood. Surely you know the facts and circumstances of childbirth often mandate medical intervention. When faced with the life and health of their baby, only an idiot would opt for natural childbirth for their fulfillment rather than forceps or any medical intervention including a C-Section. And is it true that movie stars are requesting a C-Section to avoid labor or otherwise for their convenience? I suppose that shouldn’t surprise me, apparently the doctors in Hollywood are owned by the movie star parents and they are treated whichever way the movie star “opts.” Its good to have options but patients aren’t always qualified to make these decisions no matter what natural birth they wanted. My cousin insisted on a natural birth even though her doctor urged her to have a C-section. The baby was born w/ a broken pelvis and I’ve never forgiven her. Yes she “opted” for natural childbirth but the baby paid the price.
kate commented on Feb 03 10 at 10:27 pmCommentsI don’t believe most had natural, some has herpes, let’s tell the truth, example, one lady that is in her 40′s
Julie commented on Mar 24 10 at 7:05 pmNormal birth does not usually need ANY medical intervention. The statistics for complications are actually higher in a hospital and with the introduction of any intervention such as Pitocin or an Epidural. Most times when forceps or vacuum extraction are needed are when a mother has been lying on her back, after having an epidural for hours. Women who labor/birth without drugs can move around, squat, etc to help that baby be born & prevent certain common complications you hear of in the hospital. I am glad to hear of people in the news doing natural birth, it helps it be more known that it is normal and MORE safe than intervention. A baby can heal from a broken bone a ton easier and faster than adults do- plus a broken bone is better than many other potential risks that could happen to them if they were to have a reaction to the intervention.
Julie commented on Mar 24 10 at 7:07 pm… also I dont understand the comment about herpes. You can have a natural, unmedicated birth with herpes… goodness.
Doula Los Angeles commented on Jun 08 10 at 5:57 pmI think natural childbirth is the way forward!;-)
Aveji commented on Jan 13 12 at 12:24 pmGood for them! I had three c-sections (first one was an emergency c-section after 25 hours of labor). I tried a VBAC two more times and each time ended up with a c-section after 22plus hours of labor not progressing (despite pitocin and being a week overdue.) I always dreamed of natural birth but it wasn’t meant to be for me. I would have been terrified to be at home, I must say, since I hemorrhaged after my second pregnancy and almost died. I do love reading about births that go smoothly, though.
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