When it comes to giving birth, there are lots of preparations to make and considerations for who will assist in the birthing process. Like most expectant moms, celebrity moms have to make these plans, too (hey, they’re only human!), whether they’re planning to give birth in a hospital or at home. Celeb moms have more frequently been hiring doulas, certified maternity helpers during pregnancy, labor and new motherhood who are often hired by parents who want an educated helping hand for the birth of their new baby. Doulas can even be used during hospital births and during epidurals and C-sections — in fact, in certain situations, doulas highly recommend these interventions.
Doulas are becoming more popular, both among the general population and among celebrities, especially since studies have found that having a doula greatly improves birth outcomes, including higher baby weights, fewer complications and significantly improved breastfeeding.
Let’s take a look at some of the celebrities who have welcomed a doula into their home, birth center or hospital room.
Mila Kunis
Not only did powerhouse Hollywood couple Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher decided to go the doula route before the birth of their first baby, Wyatt Isabel, they also decided to keep it in the family. They had Kutcher's sister Katie Hightower, a certified doula, fly in from Iowa to help during labor and after delivery. Hightower also acted as doula for Ashton's sister Tausha Kutcher when she welcomed her second child into the world.
Ashton and Kunis did their research, according to an interview Kunis did with Ellen DeGeneres while pregnant: "We watched a couple of documentaries and we looked into the… midwife aspect of it, and spoke to my OB/GYN and realized that the hospital that I'm going to be laboring in does a midwife, you know, doula type of thing. So I'm gonna do it as all-natural as I possibly can unless there's an emergency or something."
Jessica Biel
Doulas aren't just there to help you follow through with your birth plan. They are also there to get you the medical attention you need when things don't go as planned. In the case of Jessica Biel and husband Justin Timberlake, their midwives and doula knew when it was the right time to ditch the home birth and get a C-section.
"We had two midwives, one doula, one meditation birthing class, a ton of hippie baby books and a lovely home in the Hollywood Hills that we had turned into a labor training facility that we called The Octagon. So, not exactly normal," the couple said in a book about the first four months of having a baby.
"When all our plans fell apart and the serene, natural childbirth we had envisioned ended with a transfer to the hospital and an emergency C-section, we arrived home exhausted, disillusioned and totally in shock," they said.
Still, they were appreciative of the healthy birth of their son, Silas, in 2015.
Kelly Ripa
Kelly Ripa was using a doula in childbirth before it was trendy — the Live! star had a doula at her side during the birth of her second child, daughter Lola Grace, in 2001.
People reported that on her show, she joked, "We used a doula with the second pregnancy. We did breathing exercises, we focused on things, we focused on getting Mark out of the room."
Sounds like maybe the doula had a couple of important jobs to do!
January Jones
January Jones gave birth to her son, Xander Dane, in 2011 and has raised him on her own, never revealing who the father is. That's one reason this strong single mom had a room full of female energy when she gave birth, as she told Red:
“My younger sisters [Jacey and Jina] and my mum and my doula were in the room. My brother-in-law and my dad were next door. I only wanted women with me. Female energy. And I was embarrassed — your body does all these crazy things. It was a 30-hour process, but it was awesome. I’d love to do it again.”
Erykah Badu
Try to top this: Celebrity singer Eryka Badu not only had a doula when she birthed her three children at home (Seven Sirius Benjamin, Puma Sabti Curry and Mars Merkaba Thedford), she also became a doula herself.
"I had all my children at home, naturally," she told Babble. "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."
Then People reported this summer that model Slick Woods would have Badu as her midwife as she gave birth to her first child, Saphir. “She’s a mommy role model. A mother I look up to, who kills her shit and is a boss-ass bitch,” Woods said.
Nicole Kidman
Nicole Kidman may well have been a doula trendsetter. On The Oprah Winfrey Show in 2008, the A-list Hollywood star mentioned in passing that she had a doula at her side during the birth of her daughter Sunday Rose.
Kidman called her experience "extraordinary" and "easy," which is a pretty great endorsement for the labor helpers. We can see how it might have inspired others to try out doula services.
Idina Menzel
When then-couple Idina Menzel and Taye Diggs had their baby, Walker Nathaniel, in 2009, they enlisted the help of a doula to make sure everything went well. While Menzel hasn't talked about her doula experience to the media, Diggs sat down to talk about his experience at the birth with Jimmy Kimmel.
"[The doula] basically told us everything that was going to happen before it was going to happen, because regardless of all the books that you read, for me personally, when I'm in the moment, I forget everything," Diggs said.
Alanis Morissette
For an international rock star, Alanis Morissette sure likes to do things at home. Morissette and her rapper husband, Mario "Souleye" Treadway, got married in a private ceremony at their home in 2010, and they had both of their children at home: Ever Imre, born in 2010, and Onyx Solace, born in 2016.
Morissette told People that the home birth of her daughter was great, but a bit gruesome: "I think the words Texas Chainsaw Massacre were used when my midwife and doula walked in. It's pretty gnarly, but it's not meant to be all clean and perfect. We are animals."
Morissette is still a huge proponent of doulas — she supports a fund that helps volunteer doulas connect with low-income families to improve birth outcomes.
Ricki Lake
Former talk show host Ricki Lake made a splash in 2008 when she appeared in the documentary The Business of Being Born, which discussed a large number of issues related to medical interventions during birth as well as alternatives to epidurals and medicated births. One of the stories woven through the film is the birth of Lake's second son, Owen, who is delivered in a bathtub.
Lake then became a non-medicated birth activist, penning several books related to the subject and then, like Erykah Badu, becoming a certified doula herself in 2016. No word on any newborns she has helped into the world, though.
Molly Sims
Model Molly Sims is one of many Hollywood moms who have turned to doula Lori Bregman for help during pregnancy, during labor and delivery and for newborn care guidance. It's not clear how many of her three children got the doula's care, but Sims says she loved using Bregman's wisdom and services both during childbirth and in the first weeks and months of mothering an infant.
"I absolutely loved working with Lori Bregman," Sims wrote in a testimonial. "All throughout my 9-month journey, she was so supportive and warm. She made me feel confident to be a new mom! Lori transformed my way of eating, my way of thinking, and I am still seeing the positive results from her work with me. If you want to have a play-by-play of the best things to do for you and your baby during pregnancy, Lori is your go-to girl!!"
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