Home birthing has become increasingly popular, especially with celebrities, who have spoken about their experiences after they welcomed their baby. Brazilian model Gisele Bundchen says that her home birth was painless, while the likes of Pamela Anderson has also lauded water births at home – she says she didn’t need any painkillers when she gave birth to both of her sons.
Alyson Hannigan
Alyson Hannigan gave birth at home with just a midwife present: “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.”
Pamela Anderson
Pamela Anderson gave birth to both of her sons in the bath tub at home, and didn’t need to take any drugs for the pain: “I gave birth at home both times–natural–with a midwife, in water…with nothing. Not even Tylenol.”
Gisele Bundchen
Brazilian model Gisele says that her home birth was a very comfortable, happy experience, and she was up and and about as usual by the next day. She says it: “wasn’t painful, not even a little bit. The whole time, my head was so 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.’ I wanted to be conscious and present for what was happening, I didn’t want to be anesthetized. I wanted to feel.”
Evangeline Lilly
Evangeline Lily had a natural birth at home, but says it went on for a long time: “I actually skipped the hospital… We decided to have the baby at home because we wanted it to be a natural birth, and it turns out that it was 30 hours of natural. Eight hours of pushing, that’s the part that men don’t understand. Women go, ‘Oh, dear, oh, dear God, eight hours of pushing?’ And the men are like, ‘Okay, eight hours of pushing.’ After about five hours of pushing, my midwife and my birthing assistant said, ‘You know, we have a few suggestions. And I was like, ‘Really? After five hours of pushing you have a few suggestions? You couldn’t have told me five minutes in?’”
Erykah Badu
Erykah Badu had all of her children naturally at home because it felt like the right place: “I had all my children at home, naturally, tirst 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.”
Cindy Crawford
Cindy Crawford felt the experience was quite surreal: “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?'” She says the birth was “absolutely surreal.”
