When I delivered my twin boys via C-section, it was luckily, pretty uneventful. I mean, eventful in the sense that my babies were being born, but without any trauma or drama. In truth, it was a fairly sterile experience — a clean, white room, a small army of doctors and nurses, medical equipment all around. There was no slow jazz playing in the OR, no meditation or Zen breathing. I didn’t ask the doctor to package up the placenta for a snack later. I was just grateful to have a healthy delivery.
I don’t really have any judgments about how couples choose to bring their little ones into the world, especially if it’s done in a safe, healthy way for both mother and child. Still, sometimes you hear these stories and you’re just like, “Wait, whaaa?!?!” And I just love it when celebs share their stories, sometimes proving that they’re the superhuman alien creatures we’ve always suspected, and sometimes proving that they’re just like us. Remember Dax Shepherd’s account of his wife Kristen Bell’s “car crash” labor and delivery last winter? He made light of a traumatic experience, but knowing that they now have a healthy daughter, it was sort of reassuring to hear that even funny, gorgeous celebs can have a rough time with childbirth.
Then, there are the celebrities who have surprise home births, the celebrities who let their toddlers watch, and the celebrities who hear harps playing, as gold light radiates out of their hoo-ha. Here are some of the stars’ craziest birth stories…
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Celeb Birth Stories
Kristen Bell
During an appearance on "The Ellen Degeneres Show" , Dax Shepherd described wife Kristen Bell 's difficult labor and delivery with their second daughter, Delta, in gory detail. Bell was in labor for 33 hours and then, ultimately, had to have a C-section. The "Parenthood" actor admitted that he regretted "looking" after hearing that his daughter had arrived. "You peek around the sheet, and they're lifting out the baby, but then you notice your wife is completely disassembled — I can see inside of her. I was like, ’It’s a girl! Your liver's out, I think. And then those are definitely your intestines…Oh my god, put her back together correctly!’”
Photo: Getty
Mayim Bialik
The actress is known for being an attachment parenting advocate, but maybe she took it just a little too far when she let her 2-year-old son, Miles, witness the birth of his baby brother back in 2008. "Miles was able to watch the whole thing from his high chair while eating granola," she told People . "We prepared him with videos about homebirth that our midwife prepared. [During the birth] I said, ‘If Miles wants to go the next room he can!’ But he said, ‘No, I’m fine!’ He got freaked out by the blood, but it was still nice."
Photo: Getty
Beyonce
When Beyonce delivered the messiah daughter Blue Ivy in 2012, she felt a spiritual connection to her child. "I felt like when I was having contractions, I envisioned my child pushing through a very heavy door," she told Australian Marie Claire . "And I imagined this tiny infant doing all the work, so I couldn't think about my own pain...We were talking. I know it sounds crazy, but I felt a communication." I mean, is there anything this woman can't do?
Photo: Getty
Kourtney Kardashian
Fans of "Keeping Up With the Kardashians" may remember watching Kourtney pull her own babies out of her body. Yep, the reality star allowed the birth of her son, Mason, and her daughter, Penelope, to be filmed and, both times, literally brought them into this world with her own two hands.
Photo: Getty
Miranda Kerr
Deciding to go through childbirth without an epidural is seriously brave and no joke. When Miranda Kerr was in labor with her son, Flynn, the pain was so intense that she actually had an out-of-body experience. "I actually thought I was going to die at one point and left my body," she told Australian InStyle . "I was looking down on myself, the pain was so intense." Her baby Daddy, Orlando Bloom, actually peed into a bottle in the delivery room because Miranda wouldn't let him leave her side.
Photo: Getty
Angelina Jolie
When the jet-setting stunner gave birth to her oldest daughter, Shiloh, she didn't just pop into the local clinic. No, she gave birth in Africa, in a tiny hospital, just she and Brad Pitt and the doctor. Despite the "cottage" environment, she had a medical C-section, which she embraced. "I found it fascinating," she told Vanity Fair . "I didn’t find it a sacrifice and I didn’t find it a painful experience. I found it a fascinating miracle of what a body can do."Photo: Getty
Jessica Alba
When Jessica Alba gave birth to her daughter, Honor, in 2008, she practiced hypnobirthing, which helps you get into a calm state during delivery. "It’s just about eliminating preconceived ideas, negative ideas that people have about birthing and labor, and getting into a zone of health and wellness," she told Today's Parent . "Your body is supposed to do this; it’s meant and made for birthing a child...So if you just allow it to do what it’s meant to do, and if you can stay calm and open, then you’ll have an easier time with birthing." A few years later, her second daughter, Haven, was born, still inside her amniotic sac!Photo: Getty
Maya Rudolph
As the mom of four, the funny lady is probably a birthing pro by now. But back in 2009, she had an unexpected home birth when her daughter, Lucille, decided she just couldn't wait to come into this world. "[A homebirth] was not my plan, but that’s what happened … because the baby came out really fast," Rudolph said on "Chelsea Lately" . "Luckily, she just kind of glided into her father’s arms.” Photo: Getty
Gisele Bundchen
Yes, yes, Gisele, we get it. You're a superhuman. Yippee. Everything is just so seamless and easy when you're you, including natural childbirth. “My delivery was in a bathtub," she told Brazilian TV show . "I wanted to be very aware and present during the birth…I didn’t want to be drugged up. It didn't hurt in the slightest. The whole time my mind was focused on each contraction on the thought 'my baby is closer to coming out.'" Oh, and apparently, baby Benjamin didn't even cry when he was born. Seriously? Does this woman have any female friends?Photo: Getty