The old saying goes, “money can’t buy happiness.” Well, it may be able to buy you an entire maternity floor, which is a pretty happy spot for a mama-to-be. But money still can’t buy a perfect child birth. Although, having all the money in the world may be able to make delivery a bit more comfortable (like five star hotel suite comfortable!). Some cases are just completely over the top.
That being said, each woman’s birthing experience is unique, no matter how loaded they are. Some celebrities even claim it’s their status that saved them during child birth. From Angelina Jolie crediting the ultrasound for saving her in the case of her baby being breech to Christy Turlington claiming that she survived because she is a rich western supermodel, these women are proving that celebrity status certainly carries a lot of weight when bringing a new baby into the world.
However, conditions like pre-eclampsia and placenta Previa don’t discriminate based on financial or social status. It doesn’t matter how famous a woman is, when she is in labor and conditions like this arise, her life can be put at risk.
Other celeb moms just want to have a normal childbirth. Epidural, natural, home birth or C-section, - some celebs from who we would expect over the top behavior, want only for their babies to be healthy, just like us regular mamas!
Whether it’s unbelievable luxury, shocking conditions, strange priorities, or just plain strange behavior in general, the following stories of celebrity childbirth are completely over the top. You won’t believe what happened during their labor and deliveries!
15 Mariah Carey Renews Vows After Childbirth
You don’t get to celebrity status like Mariah Carey without some serious determination. When she decides to do something, nothing will stand in her way. Which could explain why she and husband Nick Cannon had their wedding in the hospital one day after delivering their brand new twins! Okay, it wasn’t actually a wedding like Cannon posted on Twitter, but the couple planned to renew their vows and having two babies the day before wasn’t going to throw these plans off!
Reverend Al Sharpton performed the ceremony on the third anniversary of the couple's wedding. But first Carey and Cannon had to have their babies! They arrived at the hospital in a Rolls Royce Phantom and Carey delivered her precious babies to her own song, “We Belong Together.” Sharpton renewed the couple’s vows and performed a blessing over the children tweeting, “Mariah looks GREAT and the babies are beautiful!”
14 Katie Holmes Gives Birth Silently
Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise got together when Katie was 27 years old. Cruise, 10 years her senior, had a huge influence on her. So much so that they were engaged only 8 weeks after meeting each other. He also influenced her to convert from her Catholic roots to his religion, Scientology. Because of how controlling Tom was said to be, it is likely that Katie was also influenced to have a “silent birth.”
Yeah, silent isn’t exactly what comes to mind for most women when they think about pushing a human out of their body. But Katie opened up to the public about how controlling Tom was and how outrageous some of the practices of Scientology are. One such belief is that if a birth is silent, the baby will have a more calm and pleasant disposition. Some practicing the religion say that a couple natural noises are okay, but the goal would be to have no talking, background noise or excess noise made by mom... Good luck with that, right?
13 Amy Poehler's Doctor Dies Before The Delivery
Funny gal Amy Poehler had a not so funny incident when it came time to deliver her son, Archie, in 2008. Although, it probably added to the inevitable fatigue, the issue had nothing to do with the actress performing 15 live shows in the two months leading up to her due date. Actually the worst part was that she, like many women, wasn’t able to have her own O.B. perform her delivery - because he died the day before her due date!
It’s hard enough news for a mommy-to-be to hear that she won’t have her own O.B. But facing the news of his death had to be truly heartbreaking. Poehler was on the set of Saturday Night Live, rehearsing a skit for a parody of Mad Men when she got the news. In an attempt to lighten the mood, co-star, Jon Hamm told her that he “realizes that this is a very sad time, but this show is really important to his career and he needs her to get her sh*t together."
12 Kristen Bell Has A "Car Crash" Baby
Okay she didn’t really have a baby during a car crash. Rather, this is how husband Dax Shepard described the birth of their second daughter, Delta. According to upi.com, Shepard claims, “I think dads need something too. Birth is still a car crash and I’m in the passenger seat.” Obviously the 33 hour labor took a toll on this daddy too. But that’s nothing compared to the trauma of seeing his baby being pulled from his wife during an unplanned C-section!
Dax and Kristen have two very different recollections of the birth. Kristen, who after 14 hours, got an epidural, remembers being comfortably numb and content. Dax, on the other hand, remembers being fatigued and traumatized by seeing his wife’s internal organs during the C-section. He joked with Ellen DeGeneres about telling the doctors to put her back together correctly!
11 Beyonce Rents The Entire Maternity Wing
Nothing screams over the top like renting an entire maternity ward. Leave it to Queen Bey and Jiggaman to take the cake for this one. Naming their firstborn Blue Ivy should clue you in to just how over the top they would go, but just in case, let's break this one down. To begin with, reports have indicated that the couple paid $1.3 million dollars to rent an entire maternity ward. They spent about one million on a recovery suite, complete with flat screen televisions, luxury furniture, a kitchenette and sitting area.
They even caused a lock-down in the hospital over their demand for privacy. While these claims are not supported by the hospital, there are also first-hand accounts of such incidents. According to Romper.com, one woman claims that she was unable to leave the NICU after visiting her own twins and that the windows and security cameras of the maternity ward were blacked out.
10 Kourtney Kardashian - TV Crew Films The Whole Delivery
While some celebrities demand absolute privacy surrounding the birth of their children, other celebrities are on the exact opposite end of the spectrum. One can only hope for a happy medium. But Kourtney Kardashian was so unconcerned with privacy surrounding the birth of her son Mason, that she invited the whole entire world to watch her actually deliver the baby.
It’s a well-known fact that anyone with the last name Kardashian will surely be over the top. But Kourtney took it to a whole new level when film crews joined Kourtney and her husband, Scott, in the delivery room where doctors let Kourtney pull her son from her own womb. The entire pregnancy, labor and delivery were aired on the ever famous E! reality show, Keeping Up With The Kardashians. Seriously, is nothing sacred anymore?
9 Jessica Alba - Daughter Is Born In The Amniotic Sac
Jessica Alba’s birth of her second child, Haven, is extraordinary for sure. To begin with, she had the child naturally which is a feat in itself. She called it Zen birth on account of meditation and yoga style breathing. It was no peaceful process though. Alba explains that her second childbirth experience was for sure more painful than delivery of her first daughter, Honor.
What makes this birth story even more amazing is that Haven was born still in her amniotic sac! Hence her name, Haven; she was brought into the world still in her safe haven. According to Today.com, this type of birth only occurs for one in every 80,000 births! One more unique detail: her doctor originally began the delivery in basketball shorts and a tee shirt. Stunned by the baby still in her amniotic sac, he said, “I’m going to need my scrubs for this!”
8 Mayim Balik Lets Her Son Watch
The Big Bang Theory actress prepped her son for the birth of his sibling by letting him watch birthing videos at home leading up to the birth. The poor soul sat in his high chair with an upfront view as his mother quickly progressed through labor and delivered his brother. Luckily for him, the whole ordeal only lasted about an hour and a half. Mayim was able to have a natural birth at home with the help of midwives for the birth of her second son.
This was a dream come true for her as she intended for the birth of her first son to be natural and at home but wasn’t able to. With her first son, Mayim had gestational diabetes and therefore her son was born with a low temperature and low blood sugar. She spent 3 days in labor at home before delivering in a hospital where her first son then spent 4 days in the NICU.
7 Angelina Jolie Has A C-Section In Africa
We had to expect a crazy story about the birth of Brangelina’s first child together and they were happy to deliver. The couple decided to give birth to their daughter, Shiloh (Hebrew for Messiah) in Namibia. Things got a little tense when Angelina had an ultrasound that showed she was breech. As if giving birth in a third world country weren’t nerve wracking enough, doctors also told her she would need a C-section.
The procedure went smoothly but the fact that they wouldn’t have known to do a C-section without an ultrasound affected the actress greatly. This is because many hospitals around the world do not have this life saving piece of equipment. According to cbsnews.com, 6 pictures of newborn baby Shiloh were taken with Brad and Angelina snuggling her. The couple reportedly sold the 6 pictures to Getty Images for an unbelievable $4 million dollars. All proceeds were donated to charity.
6 Kate Middleton Waves To Onlookers 10 Hours Later Later
The Duchess of Cambridge gives us many reasons to admire her. The birth of baby Charlotte gives us even a few more reasons. Not only was her super short delivery reported to be extremely smooth and likely without the use of an epidural, but she did so despite the complications during pregnancy caused by hyperemesis gravid arum. This is a condition much worse than just morning sickness. It is a debilitating sickness that can set in around three week’s gestation and last 15 weeks or longer.
The condition can cause constant nausea and vomiting as well as weakness and possible fainting. With true grace, the princess overcame her condition and proceeded with labor and delivery, celebrating with a champagne toast to the new baby girl and her close knit medical team shortly after. In true royal fashion, Kate goes a bit further over the top by standing on the steps of St. Mary’s hospital, waving to onlookers only 10 hours after the delivery.
5 Kim Kardashian Suffers Complications
North West. Need I say more? Actually the reality star’s birth wasn’t quite as glamorous as you might imagine. Kim suffered from pre-eclampsia during her pregnancy with North. This is a condition that causes high blood pressure for the mother and can put both mother and baby at risk. It has been known to cause extreme swelling as well, which Kim experienced too. North was born at 34 weeks and fortunately, was perfectly healthy.
Unfortunately for Kim, the struggle didn’t stop there. She also had a condition called Placenta Accrete. Normally the placenta is delivered after the baby is born. Placenta Accrete is when this doesn’t happen because the placenta has grown too deeply into the uterine wall. Her doctor had to reach in and physically remove it. What’s worse is that after the forced removal of the placenta, some of it remained attached. Kim was forced to have it surgically removed. Later, she needed another surgery to remove the scar tissue from this procedure.
4 Zoe Saldana's Body Crashes
Zoe Saldana recounted the trauma of childbirth to both herself and her premature twins in her 2015 Facebook post, saying that everything from her thyroid to her platelets crashed during delivery. In an article by dailymail.co.uk, she explains that the lives of her children were literally in the hands of medical professionals in the NICU. The actress tells how the preemies needed help breathing, eating, going to the bathroom and developing their immune systems.
Zoe was so moved by her childbirth experience and the care that her little ones received in the hospital that she became involved in a nonprofit organization called Brave Beginnings which aims to make sure every hospital has the equipment necessary to provide this level of care for preemies all over America. Although greatly impacted by the premature birth, Zoe didn’t slow down even a beat. In fact, quite the opposite, she says she was pushing herself then, more than ever, in an attempt to bounce back.
3 Christy Turlington Explains What Saved Her From Childbirth
British supermodel, Christy Turlington had an almost perfect childbirth experience with her firstborn child, Grace. Almost. The natural birth took place in a birthing center in New York and went very smoothly. But after the birth of the child, 45 minutes had passed and Christy had still not delivered the placenta. She began experiencing post-partum hemorrhaging. The intervention for this condition is to physically remove the uterus from the new mother and aggressively massage the uterus to make it contract.
In more severe cases, medication or a blood transfusion may be necessary. If not treated immediately, PPH can lead to a woman bleeding to death. In fact, this grim outcome is likely for women around the world who are not able to afford appropriate care. It was due to her travels around the world that Christy became so aware of the mortality rate of moms from conditions exactly like the one she survived. Christy is open about the fact that if she wasn’t a rich westerner, she would have died from the condition.
2 Madonna Delivers Rocco Safely Despite Issues
In 2000, the Queen of Pop delivered her premature son, Rocco. She was scheduled for a C-section two weeks prior to her due date. However, Madonna began bleeding two weeks before the scheduled procedure. She was suffering from a condition called placenta Previa which is when the placenta covers all or a portion of the cervix. This condition can cause a woman to hemorrhage if she were to go into labor, hence the scheduled C-section. Despite being a month early, little Rocco was absolutely healthy.
He spent several days in the NICU to be certain his little lungs were developed enough before he was sent home to be with his mama. It just so happens that on the day mother and baby returned home, the baby’s father, Guy Ritchie, proposed to Madonna. He did so by leaving a ring in a bag crumpled up by her breast pump. I can't think of a more romantic way to pop the question...
1 Tori Spelling Becomes Pregnant One Month After Childbirth
You know when the doctor tells you to wait at least six weeks after you give birth before you and your partner start having sex again? Here’s why they mean what they say. Tori Spelling, ignoring such advice, became pregnant with her and Dean McDermott’s fourth child… Just one month after delivering their third child! As a result, Spelling suffered placenta Previa, a condition in which the placenta covers all or a portion of the cervix. Spelling was diagnosed with this condition after she experienced heavy bleeding after just 20 weeks gestation.
After nine more incidents of heavy bleeding, Spelling delivered her sweet son at 37 weeks. Although the baby was very healthy, Spelling’s health issues were far from over. Just 2 weeks post-op, her incision ruptured calling for immediate emergency surgery. Surviving the medical traumas of childbirth, Spelling says she is likely done having kids. Moral of the story? Listen to your doctor. They know what they’re talking about.
Sources: Dailymail.co.uk, cbsnews.com, upi.com, Today.com, Romper.com, People.com, Usatoday.com, abcnews.go.com, nydailynews.com,