Sofia Richie Grainge has taken her popular get ready with me videos to the next level: Think a makeup tutorial is exciting? How about following a months-long journey to parenthood, like the one Richie Grainge is on after she revealed to Vogue last week that she and husband Elliot Grainge are expecting a baby girl.
The model gave her growing baby bump its red carpet debut Thursday night at the Warner Music Group pre-Grammys 2024 party at Los Angeles’ Citizen News. She wore a black off-the-shoulder top, unbuttoned slightly at the bottom, black pants, and black slingback heels. She accessorized her monochrome look with David Yurman jewelry (Richie Grainge is an ambassador for the brand) and a black clutch purse.
Richie Grainge and Grainge got married on the French Riviera in April 2023 in one of the most talked-about celebrations of the year, spurring an obsession with the “quiet luxury” look that many say Richie Grainge embodies. (For the record, she says the term “sounds really nice, so I’m not knocking it, but [my stylist] Liat Baruch and I started working together properly about three and a half years ago, and when we met, our word was ‘timeless.’”) Richie Grainge walked down the aisle in custom-designed Chanel, one of three looks the house created for her that she wore during her wedding festivities.
Richie Grainge, 25, told Vogue that she and Grainge, 30, had been “casually trying” to get pregnant since their wedding, and that she confirmed this pregnancy “very, very early.”
“I was about four weeks pregnant. I was on a trip to Milan for Fashion Week, and I was going to the Prada show. I was doing a really quick 24-hour turnaround, and I felt terrible but didn’t think much of it. I thought it was jet lag,” she said. Knowing that she was going out with friends the next night and that her period was a few days late, she took a cheap test to be safe. When she saw a line indicating a positive, she sent Grainge to the store for more tests.
“He was so excited,” she said of her husband. “We spoke the whole way on the phone. And when he came home, he’s such a sweet guy he always wants to protect my emotions and expectations, so he kind of sat me down and said, ‘If these are negative, don’t be upset. Our moment will come.’ When we turned over all three tests at the same time they were all positive. He was so excited, and we both cried. It was crazy and overwhelming and so hard not to scream it from the rooftops. But knowing I was so early, I was so protective—even with my friends.”
The baby girl is due sometime in late May or June, according to Richie Grainge’s sign reveal (it’s a Gemini! Oh, and a girl.), and now that the world knows she’s on her way, Richie Grainge said she’s ready to unleash her take on pregnancy fashion instead of trying to conceal her growing bump.
“Now that we’re announcing it, I have so many ideas,” she said. “I’m not really tapping into maternitywear at all, if anything, I’m just sizing up. I’m also not buying an entirely new wardrobe for this pregnancy. I’ve bought a few pairs of pants in bigger sizes, but I’m wearing my same jackets, and sweaters, and trenches—I’m about to have some fun with it now that I can spread my wings and fly.”
As for the closet staples she’s saved for her sure-to-be well-dressed daughter?
“I have a lot of little bags to pass down,” Richie Grainge said. “I have a lot in mind.”
It’s been less than a full week since Sofia Richie Grainge and her husband Elliot Grainge announced in Vogue that they’re expecting, but already, the 25-year-old mom-to-be has debuted two “maternity” looks, and both of them include a certain beloved winter staple: cashmere sweaters.
On Monday, Richie Grainge was spotted in Los Angeles wearing a tan-colored cashmere knit underneath a pair of army-green R13 overalls. To the combo, she added white flat shoes, tortoiseshell sunglasses, and a canvas-and-leather Ferragamo Hug bag. A day later, she picked out another sweater in the luxe, super-soft fabric for lunch at Beverly Grill in Beverly Hills, this time, an oatmeal-and-black striped V-neck by Khaite. For the mid-day activity, she kept things casual, styling her thick sweater with leggings, white sneakers from On x Loewe, Toteme sunglasses and her go-to oversize The Row bag.
Given how little time has passed since their big announcement, the fact that Richie Grainge has picked this specific sweater style twice already is a sure-fire sign that there’s a lot more of it to come in her pregnancy.
Model Sofia Richie Grainge has announced she is pregnant for the first time with her husband, music executive Elliot Grainge.
The 25-year-old shared the news in Vogue article published Thursday, revealing that the couple is expecting a girl, likely a Gemini baby.
She also shared the news to Instagram, posting photos from the Vogue shoot with the captions, “and then there were three 🤍” and “Can’t wait for this next chapter of life 🤍.”
Sofia Richie and Elliot Grainge at the Ralph Lauren Spring 2024 Ready To Wear Fashion Show at the Brooklyn Navy Yard on Sept. 8, 2023, in Brooklyn, New York.
Gilbert Flores/WWD via Getty Images
Richie Grainge, now six-months pregnant, told Vogue she wanted to wait to share her big secret with the world because “pregnancy is really scary and you want to protect that space.”
“I found out very, very early,” Richie Grainge said to the magazine. “It was crazy and overwhelming and so hard not to scream it from the rooftops. But knowing I was so early, I was so protective — even with my friends.”
The Grainges were married in a grand affair last April in the south of France, where the model donned a Chanel dress and walked down the aisle with her father, singer Lionel Richie.
She told Vogue that she and her husband have been trying for a baby since their wedding. She had taken pregnancy tests before, but knew this time was different.
The couple surprised their parents with the pregnancy news at the eight-week mark and have been preparing a nursery, acclimating to the hormone changes and learning more about the process. Richie Grainge told Vogue it has been interesting to see “what the female body is capable of.”
She also explained that because of her own experience growing up in a famous family, she hopes to be mindful of her daughter’s privacy.
“I want my child to be a child, I’m not going to publicize my child on Instagram,” she said. “If she wants to be a private person, I want her to be able to make that choice, and if she wants to be a public person, she can make that choice for herself.”
This just in: Sofia Richie Grainge and her husband of nine months Elliot Grainge are expecting their first child together… a daughter! And given that she found out about the pregnancy directly after Milan Fashion Week, it’s pretty much written in the stars that the future Gemini will be just as chic as her mom.
According to the model and entrepreneur, who made the announcement in Vogue today, she found out “very, very early” about her pregnancy after traveling to the Italian fashion capital for the Prada show in September. “I was doing a really quick 24-hour turnaround, and I felt terrible but didn’t think much of it,” she told the magazine. “I thought it was jet lag.” Hint: It wasn’t. When she got home, she took a test—something she said she did fairly often given that her and Grainge had been trying to start a family ever since their April wedding—and it came back positive. “He was so excited,” she said of her husband. “We both cried.”
Now that the news is out, Richie Grainge shared that she’s excited to start experimenting with her not-so-maternity style after having to hide the pregnancy for so long under various types of oversize outerwear. “Now that we’re announcing it, I have so many ideas,” she told Vogue. “I’m about to have some fun with it now that I can spread my wings and fly.”
Scroll down to check out some of the chic ways she’s been secretly styling her growing bump, and stay tuned, there’s a whole lot more style inspiration on the way between now and Gemini season, and we’ll be covering *all* of it.
Why should fasts lasting longer than 24 hours and particularly for three or more days only be done under the supervision of a health professional and preferably in a live-in clinic?
Fasting for a week or two can actually interfere with the loss of body fat, as shown at the start of my video Is Fasting for Weight Loss Safe?. But, eventually, after the third week of fasting, fat loss starts to overtake the loss of lean body mass in obese individuals, as seen in the graph below and at 0:14 in my video. Is it safe to go that long without food?
Proponents speak of fasting as a cleansing process, but some of what is being purged from our bodies are essential vitamins and minerals. People who are heavy enough can fast up to 382 days without calories, but no one can go even a fraction of that long without vitamins. Scurvy, for example, can be diagnosed within as few as four weeks without any vitamin C. Beriberi, deficiency of thiamine (vitamin B1), may start even earlier in fasting patients. And, once it manifests, it can result in brain damage within days, which can eventually become irreversible.
Even though fasting patients report problems such as nausea and indigestion after taking supplements, all of the months-long fasting cases I’ve discussed previously were given daily multivitamins and mineral supplementation as necessary. Without supplementation, hunger strikers and those undergoing prolonged fasts for therapeutic or religious purposes (like the Baptist pastor hoping “to enhance his spiritual powers for exorcism”) have ended up paralyzed, become comatose, or worse.
Nutrient deficiencies aren’t the only risk. After reading about all of the successful reports of massive weight loss from prolonged fasting in the medical literature, one doctor decided to give it a try with his patients. Of the first dozen he tried it on, two died. In retrospect, the two patients who died had started out with heart failure and had been on diuretics. Fasting itself produces pronounced diuresis, meaning loss of water and electrolytes through the urine, so it was the combination of fasting on top of the water pills that likely depleted their potassium and triggered their fatal heart rhythms. The doctor went out of his way to point out that both of the people who died started out “in severe heart failure, complicated by gross obesity; but both had improved greatly whilst undergoing starvation therapy.” That seems like a small consolation since they were both dead within a matter of weeks.
Not all therapeutic fasting fatalities were complicated by concurrent medication use, though. One researcher writes: “At first he did very well and experienced the usual euphoria…His pulse, blood pressure, and electrolytes remained satisfactory, but in the middle of the third week of treatment, he suddenly collapsed and died. This line of treatment is certainly tempting because it does produce weight loss and the patient feels so much better, but the report of case-fatalities”—the whole part about killing people—“must make it a very suspect line of management.”
Contrary to the popular notion that the heart muscle is specially spared during fasting, the heart appears to experience similar muscle wasting. This was “described in the victims of the Warsaw ghetto” during World War II in a remarkable series of detailed studies carried out by the ghetto physicians before they themselves succumbed. In a case entitled “Gross Fragmentation of Cardiac Fiber After Therapeutic Starvation for Obesity,” a 20-year-old woman successfully “achieved her ideal weight” after losing 128 pounds by fasting for 30 weeks. “After a breakfast of one egg,” she had a heart attack and died. On autopsy, as you can see below and at 3:44 in my video, the muscle fibers in her heart showed evidence of widespread disintegration. The pathologists suggested that fasting regimens “should no longer be recommended as a safe means of weight reduction.” Breaking the fast appears to be the most dangerous part. After World War II, as many as one out of five starved Japanese prisoners of war tragically died following liberation. Now known as “refeeding syndrome,” multiorgan system failure can result from resuming a regular diet too quickly. This is because there are critical nutrients such as thiamine and phosphorus that are used to metabolize food. Therefore, in the critical refeeding window, if too much food is taken before these nutrients can be replenished, demand may exceed supply. Whatever residual stores you still carry can be driven down even further, with potentially fatal consequences. This is why rescue workers are taught to always give thiamine before food to victims who have been trapped or otherwise unable to eat. Thiamine is responsible for the yellow color of “banana bags,” a term you might have heard used in medical dramas to describe an IV fluid concoction often given to malnourished alcoholics to prevent a similar reaction. (You can see a photo of them below and at 4:53 in my video.) Anyone “with negligible food intake for more than five days” may be at risk of developing refeeding problems. Medically-supervised fasting has gotten much safer now that there are proper refeeding protocols. We now know what warning signs to look for and who shouldn’t be fasting in the first place, such as those who have advanced liver or kidney failure, porphyria, uncontrolled hyperthyroidism, and pregnant and breastfeeding women. The most comprehensive safety analysis of medically supervised, water-only fasting was recently published by the TrueNorth Health Center in California. Out of 768 visits to its facility for fasts up to 41 days, were there any adverse events? There were 5,961 of them! Most of these were mild, known reactions to fasting, such as fatigue, nausea, insomnia, headache, dizziness, upset stomach, and back pain. Only two serious events were reported, and no fatalities. You can see the chart below and at 5:58 in my video. “Fasting periods lasting longer than 24 hr, and particularly those lasting 3 or more days, should be done under the supervision of a physician and preferably in a [live-in] clinic.” In other words, don’t try this at home! This is not just legalistic mumbo-jumbo. For example, normally, your kidneys dive into sodium conservation mode during fasting, but should that response break down, you could rapidly develop an electrolyte abnormality that may only manifest with non-specific symptoms, like fatigue or dizziness, which could easily be dismissed until it’s too late.
The risks of any therapy must be premised on the severity of the disease. The consequences of obesity are considered so serious that effective therapies could have “considerable acceptable toxicity.” For example, many consider major surgery for obesity to be a justifiable risk, but the keyword is effective.
Therapeutic fasting for obesity has largely been abandoned by the medical community not only because of its uncertain safety profile but its questionable short- and long-term efficacy. Remember, for a fast that only lasts a week or two, you might be able to lose as much body fat or even more on a low-calorie diet than a no-calorie diet.
It’s common knowledge that women don’t drink while they’re pregnant, and even throughout the time they’re trying to conceive. But what about the male partner in question? According to groundbreaking new research published in the journal Andrology, men’s alcohol habits could have more of an impact on sperm quality and fetal development than we previously realized. Here’s what they found.
A woman who has been in a Florida county jail since June 2022 is pregnant, according to her sister and her attorney, who are demanding answers from corrections officials.
Daisy Link, 28, called her family on Christmas Day to say she was almost four months pregnant, according to her sister, Crystal Barreto.
“I was lost for words. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing,” Barreto, who lives in Homestead, Florida, said in a phone interview. “Right away, I was concerned about Daisy and her safety.”
Daisy Link. (Courtesy Crystal Barreto)
Link is being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center in Miami-Dade County on a charge of second-degree murder, jail records show. She is also charged with battery by a detainee on a visitor or other detainee. Her case has not gone to trial yet.
In her first interview about Link’s pregnancy, Link’s criminal defense attorney, Marlene Montaner, told NBC News that the second-degree murder charge stems from a domestic violence incident in which Link fired a single gunshot while attempting to protect herself from an abusive partner. She shared photos with NBC News of Link with blood on her shoulders and head that Montaner said was the result of abuse Link had endured days before she fired the weapon in June 2022.
Both Montaner and Barreto have been trying to get Link released on house arrest, especially now that she is pregnant. Neither knows how she got pregnant. The Miami-Dade Corrections and Rehabilitation Department did not comment on who may have impregnated Link and Barreto said that her sister has not told her what happened.
“My sister, when she was able to call us here and there, was trying to tell us pieces of the story, but is very scared to say anything over the phone because her calls are being recorded,” Barreto said.
Montaner said “the allegations right now are that it’s another inmate,” but said she does not yet have additional information. The county jail houses male and female inmates, separated by floor.
Montaner added that she doubts “implausible” reports that were published in other media outlets that suggested the pregnancy may have been the result of a male inmate passing semen through an air conditioning vent. Barreto also said she doesn’t believe that story.
Regardless, Montaner said, she blames the corrections officials.
“No matter how you slice this for them, at the end, they are at fault for her pregnancy,” she said, adding: “I want answers.”
Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center in Miami. (Google Maps)
A spokesman for Miami-Dade Corrections and Rehabilitation said in an emailed statement that the matter is under “active investigation” and that corrections staff were told by an inmate on Dec. 23 that she believed she is pregnant. The pregnancy was confirmed after a “thorough medical exam through our Correctional Health Services partners,” the statement said.
According to Barreto, Link said she had tried telling jail officials about her pregnancy earlier.
“They laughed at her. They told her, ‘You’ve been in here going on two years. Who are you going to be pregnant by, aliens?’ Like, mocking her,” Barreto said.
Miami-Dade Corrections and Rehabilitation declined to comment further on the investigation but said it has seen no evidence that the pregnancy was the result of a sexual assault.
“While there is no evidence of sexual battery against our inmate at this time, the circumstances surrounding the pregnancy are currently under active investigation,” the department’s spokesman said.
Pregnant inmates receive “timely and appropriate prenatal care,” he added.
“The MDCR has healthcare procedures in place to ensure the safety of all those in our custody, any unborn child, and staff, in any case of pregnancy while in our care,” he said.
But Link’s family remains concerned.
“Nobody should come out pregnant in jail. This is really ridiculous,” Barreto said. “We’re just very worried about Daisy and her well-being, her safety and the safety of her unborn child.”
Suki Waterhouse showed off her baby bump and some bling — in the form of a diamond ring — in a new social media video.
“I come to you standing in my bathroom a changed woman. I have been known to have stains on my clothes, but recently I’ve learned how to clean and how to become an adult woman,” the Daisy Jones and the Six star, 31, quipped in a sponsored Instagram video with detergent brand The Laundress on Friday, December 31.
Waterhouse wore a cropped blouse that showed off her bare baby bump as she demonstrated how to wash a Christian Dior gown. As she plunged the tulle fabric into the sink to hand wash it, a diamond ring was prominently on display on her left hand.
After washing the dress, Waterhouse put it on, and she kept the ring on her left hand through the outfit change.
Waterhouse was first spotted wearing the diamond rock earlier this month. The actress sported the bauble during a December 18 stroll in London with her partner, Robert Pattinson, prompting engagement speculation.
Already an accomplished singer, actress and model, Suki Waterhouse is preparing to take on the role of a parent alongside her boyfriend, Robert Pattinson. Waterhouse confirmed in November 2023 that she is expecting her first baby with Pattinson while on stage at the Corona Capital 2023 Music Festival. “I thought I’d wear something sparkly today […]
“I thought I’d wear something sparkly today because I thought it might distract you from something else that’s going on,” Waterhouse said during her November performance at the Corona Capital 2023 Musical Festival in Mexico City. “I’m not sure if it’s working.”
During the show, Waterhouse pointed at her baby bump, which she had dressed up in a glittery minidress and a fuzzy coat.
Stars including Suki Waterhouse, Rihanna, Sienna Miller have changed the definition of maternity style, making their baby bumps the focal point of an outfit. Waterhouse — who announced in November 2023 that she’s expecting her first baby with Robert Pattinson — flashed her belly while taking a stroll in Los Angeles. At the time, she […]
“Rob and Suki really hid this pregnancy well from friends before they were ready to reveal the happy news,” a source exclusively told Us Weekly later that month. “Suki and Rob couldn’t be more thrilled and they feel beyond blessed.”
Pattinson has since made sure to dote on his pregnant partner.
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“[He has] been loving taking care of Suki,” a second source revealed in the latest issue of Us Weekly, on newsstands now. “It’s a really special time for their entire [extended] family, especially celebrating such a magical moment with the holiday season.”
Earlier on Saturday, Waterhouse revealed via her Instagram Story that she was “sick in the studio” while presumably recording new music.
One of my most vivid memories of my first pregnancy is sitting at my desk at work, staring intently at the door to the restroom, willing myself not to throw up. Now it looks like other pregnant people may not have to suffer like I did.
Nausea and vomiting—euphemistically called “morning sickness”—can be one of the hardest parts of pregnancy. Despite the name, the nausea can go on for 24 hours a day, every day, for months. If you’re lucky, like I was, it can just make life really unpleasant. For a lot of people, though, the inability to keep food down can lead to malnutrition, miscarriage, and even death.
If your morning sickness is relatively mild, you can get by with home remedies: bland foods, sour candies, and lots of ginger and peppermint. If it gets to the point where you can’t function, doctors can prescribe medication (like a doctor did for me in my second pregnancy). However, healthcare that primarily affects women is rife with misinformation, disbelief, and a lack of research, which means that many pregnant people’s symptoms are dismissed.
But there may be hope in sight—if more doctors and researchers start taking the condition seriously.
One intrepid researcher fights the odds to pinpoint the cause of morning sickness
According to The New York Times, Dr. Marlena Fejzo, a geneticist who lost a pregnancy to severe morning sickness, originally applied for funding from the National Institutes of Health to study the condition. However, her application was rejected.
Fejzo then turned to the genetic testing service 23AndMe, which gathered data on morning sickness from its clients. Using that data, Fejzo was able to pinpoint a possible cause of morning sickness: a hormone called GDF15. This hormone causes nausea in response to stresses placed on the body.
This discovery could be life-changing for pregnant people. For example, the research team who led the study believes that exposing people to low doses of the hormone before they get pregnant could desensitize them to its effects.
Morning sickness is often treated as an inevitable symptom of pregnancy. Who can keep track of all the movies and TV shows in which someone realizes they’re pregnant after they run to the bathroom to puke? But the symptom isn’t universal, and it doesn’t have to endanger pregnant people’s health and well-being. Here’s hoping that soon, morning sickness is a thing of the past.
The study was performed on groups of mice and scientists discovered that the drug eliminated the mice’s fertility in just 30 minutes. It did not interfere with their mating behaviour in other ways, though – the males still mated with females but no pregnancies occurred in this period of time. Sperm collected from the female mice remained debilitated.
According to the study, contraceptive effectiveness was found to be at 100 percent in the first two hours and 91 percent in the first three hours. By 24 hours, it had returned to normal levels. Researchers found no negative health impacts when the drugs were continuously given to the mice for six weeks.
At the moment, further studies and clinical trials are needed – but it seems that the male pill could be a reality in the near future.
The next closest thing we have to a male contraceptive pill is a jab, which uses a technique known as Risug (Reversible inhibition of sperm under guidance). It works by injecting a gel into the sperm ducts (under anaesthetic), which creates a barrier that stops the sperm from being able to fertilise an egg once it’s passed through it. The injection lasts up to 10 years – and can even prevent the transmission of HIV.
One study tested the jab on human test subjects finding “no significant adverse effects” aside from “temporary scrotal enlargement and mild scrotal and inguinal region pain,” which were resolved within one month.
It’s not the only project in the mix trying to make a change. After receiving a $1.7 million (approximately £1.2 million) donation from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in 2021, researchers at the University of Dundee are also aiming to develop the first safe and effective male contraceptive drug.
According to Chris Barratt, Professor of Reproductive Medicine in the University of Dundee’s School of Medicine: “By the end of this two-year period, we would like to have identified a high-quality compound that we can progress to the first stages of drug development.
“That would be a significant step forward for the field and could potentially be the key that unlocks a new era in male contraception.
Will men actually take the male contraceptive?
This is where things get a little tricky. It’s all well and good pioneering a radical, new male contraceptive, but if men won’t actually take it… what’s the point? A study published by We-Vibe, a sex toy manufacturer, and YLabs, a research institution from the Harvard Innovation Lab, found that “78% of men worldwide would take contraception, but fear side effects.”
As part of the study, more than 3,500 people and seven sex experts from different countries were interviewed. The authors concluded that, “the majority of men want to share responsibility, and the chances of this actually happening are strong, because the increased demand is boosting research.”
However, the study also found that 41% of the men interviewed said “they would not tolerate any side effects,” especially if they thought it could affect their libido. Sadly, the flip side is that some women reported a reluctance to let men take the responsibility as “there is too much concern that their partner might not take the contraceptives regularly.”
The study concluded: “What is needed, then, is a significant cultural change in which men demand and want to use contraception and women are willing to give away some of the responsibility.”
The Supreme Court announced this morning that it would take up a pair of cases concerning access to mifepristone, the first pill in a two-pill regimen commonly used to induce abortion. Mifepristone has been the subject of a high-profile legal battle throughout the past year.
Crucially, the Court will not consider whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) erred in its initial 2000 approval of the Mifeprex (a brand name version of mifepristone) or its subsequent generic approval in 2019—which means the pill should remain legal no matter what SCOTUS decides. Rather, the Court will consider whether subsequent FDA rules regarding mifepristone’s prescription are valid.
At stake is whether doctors may prescribe mifepristone virtually, whether prescriptions can be shipped by mail, and whether it can be prescribed up to 10 weeks of pregnancy (instead of stopping at seven weeks).
Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas held in April that the whole approval process was tainted. According to Kacsmaryk, the FDA erred when it approved the drug initially and when it approved generics in 2019. The judge also agreed with the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine—the group that brought the case—that the FDA’s subsequent loosening of rules around prescribing mifepristone had been wrong.
Kacsmaryk suspended access to the pill entirely, but the Supreme Court paused enforcement of this decision while appeals were being resolved.
On appeal, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit rejected Kacsmaryk’s ruling with regard to the initial FDA approval and its later generic approval. But the 5th Circuit upheld his ruling with regard to the later loosening of prescription rules, including the FDA’s decisions to allow lower-dose prescriptions, virtual prescriptions, and shipping the drug through the mail.
Following the 5th Circuit’s ruling, the Biden administration and Mifeprex maker Danco Laboratories asked the Supreme Court to take up the case and find that the 5th Circuit was wrong with regard to the parts of Kacsmaryk’s decision that it upheld. The Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine asked the Court to take up the case and find that the 5th Circuit was wrong with regard to the parts of Kacsmaryk’s decision that it rejected. The justices met last week to decide what to do.
Today, the Court announced that it would hear the issue, consolidating the cases from Danco laboratories and the Biden administration. It declined to hear the cross-petition filed by the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine.
“What’s most important to know is that SCOTUS will not be looking at the original challenge to FDA approval of the drug,” notes Jessica Valenti of the Abortion Every Day substack. “Instead, they’ll review the 2016 and 2021 changes to restrictions around mifepristone, and whether or not the Alliance of Hippocratic Medicine (the anti-abortion group who brought the lawsuit) has standing.”
“The decision here will undoubtedly affect the availability of mifepristone, but the case no longer includes the question of whether the FDA should have approved mifepristone for the purpose of terminating pregnancies in the first place,” explains Jonathan H. Adler at The Volokh Conspiracy.
This is—as Law Dork’s Chris Geidner points out—”a best-case scenario for abortion rights supporters.” It leaves intact the general approval of mifepristone while opening up the possibility of reversing the 5th Circuit’s ruling regarding eased access to the drug.
Bhad Bhabie has taken to social media to reveal the gender of her first child. As The Shade Room previously reported, the 20-year-old revealed her pregnancy earlier this month.
On Tuesday, December 12, Bhad Bhabie, whose real name is Danielle Bregoli, took to her official Instagram account to share a photo. In the picture, the expecting mother sits on a motorcycle, holding her stomach and looking over her shoulder.
Additionally, pink smoke blew from the bike’s exhaust pipes.
In the post’s caption, Bhad Bhabie confirmed that she is expecting a baby girl.
Check out additional pictures from the 20-year-old’s photoshoot for fashion collaboration below.
Social Media Reacts
Social media users entered The Shade Room’s comment section to share their continued congratulations and well wishes for the 20-year-old.
Instagram user @ahjezthat wrote, “Aww congrats 🥳.”
While Instagram user @iamravendiaz added, “This 🔥 gender reveal”
Instagram user @mylifeasprincesss referenced Bhad Babie’s viral catchphrase, “Okay she gone have a lil catch me outside.”
While Instagram user @porshajay added, “…I pray she’s grown and will implement more structure and discipline for her own daughter. 🙏🏾”
A Look Back On The 20-Year-Old’s Pregnancy Announcement
As The Shade Room previously reported, the 20-year-old announced her pregnancy on Friday, December 1. At the time, she posted a photo sporting a white tee and sweatpants with her bump protruding.
At the time, Bhad Bhabie did not explicitly reveal the father of her unborn child. However, she is currently dating a rapper named Le Vaughn. To note the rapper is a father to a one-year-old son.
Additionally, one of three posts on Bhad Bhabie’s Instagram page includes her and Le Vaughn sitting courtside.
Check it out below.
As The Shade Room previously reported, Bhad Bhabie went viral after appearing on the ‘Dr. Phil’ talk show in 2016.
One night in July, a few weeks after my son was born, I lay awake, desperately scrolling through photos of injured feet. The mounting pain from an ingrown toenail in my right foot had become excruciating, and the internet promised to help. I could no longer deny the fact that the exorbitantly expensive Hoka sneakers I’d bought just months before—to prevent pregnancy-related foot pain—had become too small. To my horror, my feet had grown half a size. Permanently.
Pregnancy books had informed me about the less rosy aspects of new motherhood, such as shedding hair (the baby’s and mine) and uncontrollable crying (the baby’s and mine). I was even prepared for my feet to temporarily swell through the trimesters. But no one told me they might stay that way. Unlike the rest of my body, my feet did not revert to their original size 9.5 after birth. Five months later, I am now the disgruntled guardian of a large infant—and even larger feet.
Mom Feet is not a niche condition. Studies have found that anywhere from 44 to 61 percent of new moms experience lasting foot growth, and many seem to be surprised when it happens, just as I was. “Why does no one talk about the PERMANENT foot size changes after pregnancy?” one Reddit user lamented. My thoughts exactly.
Temporary swelling in the feet (and hands) is a normal part of pregnancy, particularly in the third trimester. Extra fluid in the body tends to pool in “gravity-dependent areas,” causing ankles and toes to become noticeably puffy, Silvana Ribaudo, an ob-gyn at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, told me. This is not the same thing as Mom Feet, which I learned the hard way by wearing my Hokas long after they’d started to pinch.
Foot swelling subsides after a person gives birth, but structural changes in the foot do not. Permanent foot growth, like most other disconcerting bodily changes that happen during pregnancy, can be attributed to hormones—in this case, one aptly named relaxin. It relaxes body tissue so that a growing baby can unfurl, then squiggle out. These changes are especially welcome in the pelvic region. In the feet, not so much.
If a pre-pregnancy foot is like an ice-cream sandwich straight out of the freezer—sturdy, structured—one relaxed by relaxin is a sandwich left out in the sun. The hormone causes the ligaments and tendons in the foot and ankle to lose their rigidity and strength, so the foot tends to spread out, Alexandra Black, a podiatrist at Foot and Ankle Specialists of Central Ohio who co-authored a recent review of pregnancy-related foot changes, told me. Throwing pregnancy weight on them only compounds the problems. “It leads to more of a flatter foot, a wider foot, and a longer foot,” Black said. According to the few small studies on the topic, pregnant feet, on average, go up by roughly half a shoe size and lengthen by 0.4 inches. It is a small consolation that this effect is most pronounced during first pregnancies, meaning that feet won’t grow indefinitely along with one’s brood.
It would have been nice to learn this before I bought my Hokas, of course. Had I known better, I probably wouldn’t have purchased so many Nike Air Maxes in recent years, or suggested to my husband that we buy matching white Jordans at an outlet mall during our honeymoon. Now those beloved shoes, along with the Hokas, have been banished to storage, while I’ve had to pay up for new winter boots, high heels, and sandals.
Having to buy new shoes is expensive but admittedly kind of fun. Other consequences of Mom Feet are not. Footwear is annoying, because even a small shift in foot size can lead to shoes that don’t fit. And the collapse of the arch in your feet can be especially painful. Mine used to be graceful, like the arc of a leaping gazelle. Now the gazelle has face-planted. That’s because a tendon on the inside of the ankle, which normally acts like a bungee cable stabilizing the arch, goes slack during pregnancy. Lengthening and flattening this tendon can cause “a flat-foot deformity,” Black said, “and it’s kind of hard to reverse that.” Flat feet can cause the knee and tibia to over-rotate, throwing the bones and muscles involved in walking and standing into disarray—a “major contributor to pain” in pregnancy, one review noted. Conditions such as painful heels caused by plantar fasciitis, leg cramps, bunions, and nail issues are all linked to Mom Feet.
Had I known about Mom Feet, I might have been better prepared for it. Some pregnant people and new moms find it helpful to use compression stockings to reduce swelling and get orthotics for extra arch support, Black said. Unfortunately, none of my doctors (who I should note were very good) warned me about it. Ditto for any pregnancy book I read, such as What to Expect When You’re Expecting, which said only that swelling of the feet was “normal” and “temporary.” I am far from the only person who has been caught off guard by newly big feet. Mystified mothers aboundon pregnancyforums; colleagues told me they were “not warned” and “had no idea this was A Thing.”
Perhaps the reason it is commonly overlooked is that, in the grand scheme of things that mothers-to-be have to deal with, such as gestational diabetes and life-threatening spikes in blood pressure, foot pain is relatively inconsequential. Because foot-size changes “are not concerning for the well-being of mom or baby,” they might not be deemed worthy of discussion, Leena Nathan, an ob-gyn at UCLA Health–Westlake Village, told me.
But perhaps Mom Feet isn’t talked about because many things about it are still unknown. Not everyone experiences pain, and although permanent changes are well documented, feet might still possibly revert to their original size eventually. “It can take several years,” Ribaudo said, but “sometimes it never goes back.”According to Nathan, it isn’t well understood why some people experience changes in foot size and others don’t. Even the true prevalence of this condition isn’t known for certain, because the few studies that have examined it were small. One thing is clear, however: There is a dearth of research on foot changes during pregnancy, because pregnant women, in general, are understudied. People are “hesitant to do research on pregnant women, because it’s a sensitive population,” Black said.
During my pregnancy, I was often shocked at how little was known about concerns both minor and monumental: whether eating pineapple would induce contractions, for example, or when the baby would actually be born. Walking, climbing stairs, and having sex are commonly recommended to help induce labor, but “it’s difficult to establish whether they actually worked—or whether labor, coincidentally, started on its own at the same time,” notes What to Expect When You’re Expecting. Pregnancy literature is rife with these sorts of equivocations. Many times over the trimesters, I wondered why so much of pregnancy still felt so medieval, full of guessing, folklore, and hearsay. It’s 2023: Why are new moms still surprised when their feet grow? To this, I have found few satisfactory answers. But at the very least, I have found an ingrown-toenail treatment that works.
In a new interview with Romper, Hilton revealed why she’d kept her family planning under wraps – even to her own relatives. They introduced baby London to the extended Hilton clan as a Thanksgiving surprise.
“My life has been so public, so out there. I didn’t want my son coming into this world with any negative energy,” Hilton told Romper of keeping Phoenix’s imminent arrival quiet. “I’m really happy I did it that way, just for Carter and I to have that journey together without the outside world chirping in.”
The hotel heiress and lifestyle figure calls her family “the cutesy crew,” and said that she dreamed of having a daughter.
“I always imagined my mini-me, putting her in little dresses and all the mommy-and-me things we could do together,” she said. “Just having my little best friend.”
Her mother, Kathy Hilton, and sister Nicky Hilton both knew that London was on the way, but not when. The public was kept in the dark on both pregnancies, as Hilton didn’t slow her public schedule. She feared childbirth due to her past, she said, prompting the help of a surrogate for both children.
“I just have so much PTSD from what I went through as a teenager,” Hilton said. She has written in the past of sexual abuse and medical trauma that she experienced at a boarding school in Utah as a teen. “If I’m in a doctor’s office, I get a shot, anything, I will literally have a panic attack and I can’t breathe. I just knew that would not be healthy for me or the baby, growing inside of someone who has such high anxiety.”
“It’s a scary world out there, especially today. I’m just terrified when they become teenagers,” she said. She said she’d be happy to never set foot in a club again, and would keep the kids far away from the entertainment industry if she has any say at all.
“I’m hoping that they want to be scientists,” she said of her ambitions for London and Phoenix.
Hilton calls this stage of life her “mom era.”
“This is my best era yet,” she said. The 42-year-old sees the about-face from her past antics, and she loves it.
“I used to look at my friends who’d be like, ‘Oh, I have to go home to my kids and my husband,’ like, ‘You’re so lame. This is so fun. I can’t imagine being like that,’” she said. “Now I’m one of those boring people, and I couldn’t be happier. I couldn’t imagine it any other way.”
BOSTON, December 5, 2023 (Newswire.com)
– The Epilepsy & Pregnancy Medical Consortium (EPMC), an expert panel of leading epileptologists and OB-GYN researchers/practitioners, announced updated best practice recommendations for people with epilepsy who are considering pregnancy, are pregnant, or are postpartum. These new best practices are based on the findings of the groundbreaking study Maternal Outcomes and Neurodevelopment Effects of Antiepileptic Drugs (MONEAD) and its predecessor study Fetal Antiepileptic Drug Exposure and Cognitive Outcomes at Age 6 Years (NEAD study).
MONEAD followed 565 women, including pregnant women with epilepsy, non-pregnant women with epilepsy, and pregnant women without epilepsy to explore the impact of various anti-seizure medications on seizure frequency, maternal outcomes, breastfeeding, and child outcomes (such as verbal and intellectual abilities) through six years of age.
Based on the results of this study, the EPMC asserts that with proper planning and therapeutic monitoring of pregnancy-suitable anti-seizure medications, such as lamotrigine and levetiracetam monotherapy, people with epilepsy can have safe, healthy pregnancies and healthy babies.
The data also countered the misconception that it is not safe for people who take anti-seizure medications to breastfeed their babies. Neurodevelopmental outcomes at age six were better in children exposed to anti-seizure medications in utero who were breastfed compared to those who were not breastfed.
Dr. Page Pennell, M.D., F.A.E.S., is the department chair of neurology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and co-investigator of the MONEAD study.
“There’s a lot of information out there about the danger of anti-seizure medications. But we know at this time that some medications are very safe to use during the childbearing years. But with that in mind it’s important that when it is time to have children we have everything in place, and then we have a planned pregnancy,” said Dr. Pennell.
Dr. Elizabeth Gerard, M.D., is an epileptologist and professor of neurology at Northwestern University.
“We have a research study that suggests that the children who were breastfed [from a parent who was taking] anti-seizure medicines had higher IQs than those [children] who were not breastfed. So we emphasize that for most of our drugs, we have strong evidence that there is a low risk of breastfeeding or almost no documented risk. For those [anti-seizure medications for which] we don’t have strong evidence, it is more of a theoretical risk,” said Dr. Gerard.
Because family planning can have such a positive impact on pregnancy outcomes for epilepsy patients, The EPMC also provides best-practice recommendations for contraceptive use and other considerations for patients during their childbearing years. Some anti-seizure medications can interfere with certain hormonal contraceptives, rendering them less effective.
The EPMC’s mission is to reach as many patients and clinicians as possible so they can use this new data to guide their healthcare decisions and understand the best treatment options. For information regarding the MONEAD study, care recommendations, downloadable tools, resources, and more, visit their website: epilepsypregnancy.com.
Source: Epilepsy & Pregnancy Medical Consortium (EPMC)
Last year, my brother sent me an urgent text. I immediately called him and his first words were, “My girlfriend is pregnant, what should I do and how do I do it?” Clearly, for him, news of this unplanned pregnancy wasn’t exciting to him.
He said, “I don’t even think I have enough to support myself. And now my girlfriend is pregnant and I have no money to support the child.” I told him to take a deep breath and come on over for a chat. Over the next days, they had to deal with many common emotions related to such news. It worked out well for them eventually, and now they are happy parents to a wonderful baby girl.
But it got me thinking about people who may not be ready to be parents. A 2022 UNFPA report states, “Nearly half of all pregnancies, totalling 121 million each year throughout the world, are unintended.” So, on a fact-finding mission, I spoke with Dhriti Bhavsar, Masters in Psychology, with specialization in clinical psychology, for her expert opinion on how to navigate this life-changing event.
How To Know If Your Girlfriend Is Pregnant
My brother and his partner were sure about the pregnancy, but maybe you’re going through a “I think my girlfriend is pregnant but we are not sure” phase? An unplanned pregnancy can be shocking, and coping with the immediate emotions can be difficult. Especially if you’re a teen because we all know there are psychological effects of teenage pregnancies.
The first thing you need to do is to confirm the pregnancy. Touching or looking at your girlfriend’s belly will not give you the right answer. This is especially true in the first trimester.
The quickest way to go about it is to buy a home pregnancy test kit that is easily available over the counter. But for a true confirmation, a blood test will confirm whether she’s pregnant or not. This option will detect pregnancy in the earliest stages as well, by confirming the presence of hCG in the blood. Other options include a clinical urine test and ultrasound that takes an image of the fetus.
What Are Your Options If Your Girlfriend Is Pregnant?
Now, let’s find out what to do if you accidentally get your girlfriend pregnant. This is a critical stage that requires careful consideration. You need to have plenty of conversations between the two of you before you rush a decision. When a partner is pregnant, you might feel:
Mentally unprepared to deal with the magnitude of the news
Financially insecure
Emotionally ill-equipped to be a parent
Other common emotions might be: Happiness, excitement, gratitude, overwhelm, shock, confusion, denial, anger, fear, helplessness, and a mix of these feelings
Therefore, it’s also important to learn how to treat a pregnant woman. Here are all your options when you learn the news.
1. Seek counseling and support
An unplanned pregnancy is shocking, and the news may not be easy to handle. According to Dhriti, the age of the couple matters too. She says, “If they are minors, it is pertinent that they get at least one responsible adult involved who can help them navigate the entire situation better.
“Yes, it will be scary and difficult, and they might even get punished, but at the end of the day, they’ll be able to get the guidance they need. If the family member is not someone they can trust, they can go to local resources for pregnant women. A trusted teacher would be able to help as well.”
Online support services
No matter your age, it helps to seek counseling services to ease your transition into this new world. Here are some sources of online support for you and your partner:
Reddit communities:
BabyCenter Community: It offers online forums and support groups for expectant parents and parents of young children
BetterHelp: This online counseling platform provides access to licensed therapists via text, chat, phone, or video sessions
Talkspace: It offers online therapy with licensed therapists through text, audio, and video messages
There are also US helplines like:
Please utilize such resources to get the necessary help and support. However, they should not be a substitute for seeking professional help if there is a need.
2. Embrace parenthood
A study explores the feelings of men who did not intend to have children and how they reach out to an online community for support and validation. Yes, having a pregnant girlfriend when you’re not ready may not be an ideal situation. But if you wish to take this as an opportunity to embrace parenthood like my brother and his girlfriend did, be ready to invest significant time, emotions, and effort into the process.
In case you are dealing with financial issues, Dhriti advises, “Some governments do provide grants to expectant mothers below the poverty line, so finding out if your state/country has any such resources in place would be helpful. If possible, the couple should reach out to family and their own parents for help with finances and any other support. All of this helps you feel safer in embracing parenthood.”
3. Consider marriage or commitment, if you’re ready
The unplanned pregnancy may be the catalyst for getting into a marriage or commitment. However, don’t decide until you both weigh all the options. Parenthood amongst young couples forces you to face a future that has many concerns.
Getting married solely due to the pregnancy may not be the solution. Consider involving families and experts to help with a more deliberate decision-making process. There are many marriage lessons you need to know about before you take the leap.
4. “My girlfriend is pregnant and I’m not ready” — Adoption is a great option if you’re both not ready for parenthood
Dhriti says, “The couple can personally interview other people looking to adopt to ensure that the baby goes into a family that can provide.” Temporary foster care systems can provide housing for the child until the adoption agency finds the right people who want to adopt them.
Adoption also solves the valid issue that my brother faced: “My girlfriend is pregnant and I have no money.” To this, Dhriti says, “Bringing a child into financial instability is not a wise decision for the child or for the parents. In this case, adoption can definitely be considered.”
The advantage of the adoption process is that the child gets a loving and stable home. Also, open adoption, if you choose that, gives you the option to be there in a child’s life by being able to have some form of contact with them. Please be ready for a range of emotions when you let go of the child to the adoptive parents. There are many benefits of counseling in this scenario to make an informed decision.
5. “I think my girlfriend is pregnant, we don’t want it” — Consider an abortion
In this case, you have the option of terminating the pregnancy. Over 60% of unintended pregnancies end in abortion, as per the UNFPA report mentioned above. The choice of abortion allows you to postpone parenthood until you are both ready. Like in the case of adoption, abortion is emotionally difficult as well. You need to be ready to deal with feelings imposed by society, religion, or even loved ones, like guilt, doubt, and shame.
However, “At the end of the day, keeping the fetus or aborting is solely the pregnant person’s decision as it is their body that will bear the brunt of this pregnancy, and their life will be upturned more than anyone else’s,” says Dhriti. This is why you should take advantage of the available resources in the healthcare sector for safe procedures and to address any concerns you may have.
6. Co-parenting is a healthy option if you break up mutually and respectfully
Parenting is tough, but it is possible to do it together even if you are no longer romantically involved. You must both be committed to cooperation and providing a child with a stable environment. And if you’re a divorced couple who started seeing each other again (and it led to a pregnancy), you’ll need to set up some co-parenting rules for divorced couples.
Dhriti says, “However, if you are a couple who’s still in the process of figuring out your individual lives, think about the following:
Consider where you are in life. Can you afford to sacrifice or amend your future plans? How much stability will you be able to provide yourself and a child?
Financial conditions are an important consideration as well
Can you raise a child without the immediate presence of the other parent?
Are you ready to deal with the significant changes to your normal life that a baby will bring?
Do you have the support of family, friends, and community resources?
How do both partners feel about becoming parents? An open conversation between both people is extremely important and it should remain as free of blame and judgment as possible.”
Single parenthood is an option if the girlfriend doesn’t want it
What happens in the case of “I think my girlfriend is pregnant, and I know she does not want it”? Well, if she still wants to give birth but not be a parent, and you want to be a dad for sure, then consider single parenthood. Just like Tom Cruise, Karamo Brown, Cristiano Ronaldo, Liam Neeson, and a host of other famous and not-famous men.
However, be ready for the emotional turmoil that accompanies a decision. You may have periods of doubt about your capacity to be the best single parent. According to Dhriti, “Parenting is difficult, and it is good to realize when one is not ready for it ‘before’ the child is born. Many children are unfortunately raised by people who were not ready to be parents and end up going through unnecessary trauma.”
So this is great news for the child if they have one loving parent (you) waiting for them already. To prepare for single parenthood or fatherhood:
Lean on your family, friends, and the community for support
Unlearn restrictive definitions of masculinity as time goes by
Connect with single parents, especially single fathers, online or in real life
And learn to take help!
Ex-Girlfriend is pregnant – What rights do you have?
Well, you still have the same rights and responsibilities concerning the child, no matter the status of the relationship.
Establish paternity so that you have custody, visitation, and decision-making rights regarding the child
In case of a paternity dispute, the court may order a paternity test to establish biological parentage. Consult a qualified attorney to guide you through the process and to protect your rights
As a biological parent, you have a right to be able to provide for your child, in the form of child support. This ensures that the child’s financial needs are taken care of. The amount you pay can be voluntarily agreed upon. If not, once again, the courts will have to step in and decide for you. It is always in everyone’s best interest that you amicably agree to a solution on how you will pay child support
How Do I Handle It If “My Girlfriend Is Pregnant But Not Ready?”
Open communication is important before making a decision on the pregnancy
What to do if you accidentally get your girlfriend pregnant? Well, an unplanned pregnancy is already tough on its own. But, it can get quite challenging if your girlfriend is not ready to be a mother yet.
My brother’s girlfriend had to contend with a child growing in her body. She had many emotions, fears, and concerns. She was trying to reconcile with the fact that a baby will determine the course of her life and career. My brother had to learn plenty of empathy, as well as the following:
Open communication: Sit down with your pregnant girlfriend for a good talk. You will need to know the commandments of open communication. Remember, this is not a one-time conversation but something you must keep up until you are both on the same page. Actively listen to understand her fears and concerns from her perspective as she is about to make the biggest life decisions. Stay calm and use this time to arrive at a consensus
Educate yourselves if you wish to be parents: You’re being pushed into parenthood without the benefit of time to plan for it. Hence, gathering information could help your girlfriend prepare mentally and logistically. Educate yourselves on everything to do with pregnancy and parenting. She might even want to talk about the effects of the post-pregnancy weight gain and how it can impact her self-confidence. Get expert help from counselors and healthcare professionals specializing in pregnancy-related topics, as well as other parents
Explore her feelings honestly: Peel back the layers to understand why your girlfriend is pregnant but not ready. The reason could simply be fear or concerns about pregnancy. Other deeper concerns could be fear of her parent’s reaction to the news, fears around her career and individuality, societal stigma, etc. Don’t add guilt to what she’s feeling and remember that the final decision is hers
Plan for the future: Unless the final decision is an abortion, the baby will be here very soon. My brother and his girlfriend were shocked at how fast the first trimester went by, with shopping for baby clothes, planning a baby shower, and more. In the second and third trimesters, there was simply no time. Have candid conversations about finances, co-parenting strategies, and anything else concerning the baby. Both of you will need plenty of support, direction, and financial planning tips, especially from those who have been through it before
Gauge your own readiness: She has been honest about not being ready for the child. But have you taken time to consider that you may not be as well? Honesty and clarity are critical at this time on both your parts
According to Dhriti, “It is equally the responsibility of both partners, so the man by no means can excuse himself from this responsibility. She would be experiencing hormonal changes along with a lot of emotional turmoil. Unplanned pregnancies tend to be tougher on women than men due to societal standards. So being present in her life, and being her support system is most important. Accompany her to any doctor visits or when she is revealing the pregnancy to family or someone else so that she does not have to go through something so scary on her own.”
“My girlfriend is pregnant, what should I do?” It requires that you stay calm and think things through
Don’t make a final decision based on societal stigma or the fear of losing your partner. Take into account your capabilities and capacities as well as your desires and goals
Young couples will need a strong support system and professional guidance to cope with the challenges that accompany an unplanned pregnancy
Giving the child up for adoption or abortion are viable solutions if parenting is not in the cards for a couple
Remember that the ultimate decision needs to be left to the person who’s pregnant, regarding whether they want to have a baby or not
We summarize this article with an expert input from Dhriti: “It is important to consider both the practical and the emotional consequences of an unplanned pregnancy. There is no right or wrong decision as the whole situation is very subjective — There is only what is right for you. Finding support groups of other young parents who have dealt with unplanned pregnancies on the internet can be helpful as you can find comfort and guidance in their experience.”
The country singer announced in August 2023 that she and husband Eric Decker had another little one on the way. “Good morning ☀️,” she captioned her Instagram reveal, which showed her walking out onto a balcony with her bump on full display. (The clip was set to Mariah Carey’s hit “Always Be My Baby.”)
One month later, Jessie exclusively opened up to Us Weekly about how different her fourth pregnancy felt. She and Eric previously welcomed daughter Vivianne in 2014 and sons Eric and Forrest in 2015 and 2018, respectively.
“I would say that this baby is definitely taking it easier on me out of all of them,” Jessie told Us in September 2023, confessing that it was a “surprise” to conceive again. “Vivi tried to kill me, that’s for sure. … I mean, it was just brutal.”
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After ranking her second pregnancy as being “pretty easy” and her third as being “pretty hard,” she ranked her fourth. “[This] is probably right there with my second pregnancy where it’s on the easier side. … Every pregnancy is so different, but it’s been easier,” Jessie told Us.
Scroll down for a glimpse of Jessie’s best maternity photos before welcoming her fourth child:
When Alicia Iveson joined the advertising agency world, she thought she was about to enjoy the young, progressive culture it’s famed for. “I was confronted with the exact opposite—just really archaic behaviors.”
Iveson could feel the sense of judgment (complete with actual “eye rolls”) coming from her coworkers as she left the office promptly to pick up her child from nursery. She even recalls being forced to join a regular team call during her child’s bathtime to avoid being ‘named and shamed’ for missing it.
“I wasn’t able to spend any quality time with my son because I always felt guilty,” she says, adding that juggling the demands of motherhood and her employer ended up with her dropping the laptop in the bath.
“I was never present to the point that my son would really actively shut down my laptop or tell me to get off the phone,” she adds. “When they’re starting to notice that at only two or three years old, it’s pretty horrific.”
This phenomenon is called the motherhood penalty whereby women are incorrectly prescribed as less aspirational because of their motherhood status and overlooked for promotions.
Ultimately it leaves many working moms forced to choose between being consigned to low-paying jobs with little opportunity for growth or leaving the workforce altogether.
On average, the Fawcett Society found that as a result of this prejudice mothers with two children earn 26% less than women without children. Fathers, on the other hand, see their earnings rise.
Sadly but unsurprisingly, this issue extends beyond British soil: Women around the world from France to the United States and Hong Kong told Fortune that they were asked to hide their baby bump from investors, pressured back to the office soon after giving birth and even outright told “mothers don’t succeed here”.
Women are wary of warning signs
Just insinuating you may one day have children is enough to be consigned to the “mommy track”. Lauren Tetenbaum, a lawyer-turned-social worker, told Fortune, adding that mothers are “aware of the motherhood penalty” before they even become mothers.
“They’re afraid in the U.S. to inquire about what the parental leave policies are at a company. They are afraid to ask about childcare benefits when they’re interviewing for a role,” Tetenbaum says. “It’s this unspoken secret that if they ask about it, even if they’re seeking information, they’ll be discriminated against.”
Iveson echoes that she saw warning signs of a toxic attitude around motherhood well before her baby was born. She recalls a coworker watching in horror while she progressively became slower as her pregnancy progressed.
“He said after a meeting that it was like watching his favorite race car breakdown,” she says.
Meanwhile, the 40 workers on a team call where a senior leader was mocking a working mom’s phased return calling her “effectively f–king pointless” seemed to reflect a similar, unwelcoming attitude.
Valerie Mocker of the careers consultancy Wingwomen echoes that any sniff of an outdated attitude towards working mothers is enough to make women leave an organization—whether or not they have children.
“Businesses wonder why do we not have more women at the top? Why do women seem to just leak out? One reason I see on a daily basis for the leaky pipeline is women witnessing the motherhood penalty,” Mocker warns.
Pandemic gains risk being erased
The world of work has changed—or at least, many would have hoped it has. Women increasingly have a seat at the top table of firms and the pandemic gave people an insight into what it’s like juggling childcare and work while nurseries and schools were closed.
“There were so many things that we’ve learned from that around the need for flexibility, particularly around the fact that you can still do the job, but it doesn’t have to be within the nine-to-five framework,” Iveson says.
Sara Madera, a certified career coach who works with working moms says return-to-office mandates are a big worry among “close to 100%” of her clients.
“Not having to commute has helped mums feel like they were on top of it—whether it’s the small tasks at home or being available—and feel more successful,” Madera adds. “So the idea of losing that is really frightening.”
The lack of flexibility across the board is already leaving working mothers with limited career options; According to Fawcett’s research, over a third of mothers could advance their careers but they are stuck in their current job due to the flexibility it provides.
As firms demand workers return to the office, working moms (who are often the lower-earning parent) will disproportionately have to weigh up whether they can afford to pay more for childcare—or take a step back in their careers.
Plus, although much of the anger around offices returning to more traditional timesis often directed at male bosses of a certain generation, in Iveson’s experience “women who didn’t have children” were almost equally to blame.
“They had the strongest point of view around it needing to be a bit more of a level playing field, almost like ‘why should you be treated special because you have a child type’ mentality.”
With the corporate world built by and for men, she says that women with “alpha” personalities are filling in the shoes at the top—and so even firms that are spearheaded by female leaders aren’t inherently inclusive for women with children.
“Even with women who do have children because they’re of the hazing mindset of, ‘I went through it, it was really crappy, and I never saw my child, that’s just how it is and I’m going to demand the same from you,’” Tetenbaum agrees.
Working moms are turning to entrepreneurship
Despite assumptions that pregnant women and mothers are less interested in career progression, Fawcett’s research found that most working moms remained just as ambitious after a baby—and nearly half became more ambitious.
It perhaps explains why, in response to their career aspirations being overlooked, working moms are taking matters into their own hands—and becoming their own bosses.
Now, Iveson is the co-founder and CEO at Hijinks Collective, an advertising agency with YouTube and the Royal Navy among its clients. “I’ve got more fire in my belly than I had, not the least because I’m not doing it for myself, but it’s also for myself and my son,” she says.
Meanwhile, Tetenbaum, Madera, and Mocker all claim to have gone self-employed as a direct result of the motherhood penalty. Research echoes that “mompreneurs” are on the rise, with the pandemic highlighting for many women just how much more they could get done with control over their own schedule.
Running your own business is by no means an easy feat—but for the women that Fortune spoke to it’s enabling them to be more present in both the proverbial boardroom and the playroom.
“Not everyone can leave the corporate workforce and be an entrepreneur. But I will say that, once I did, what I was seeking in terms of flexibility and really sort of acting as a grown-up—and what I mean by that is not being on someone’s schedule and being infantilized about signing in at a certain time—sealed the deal,” Tetenbaum says.
“There are still times when I have to work in the evenings but that’s okay. I can take a break in the afternoons and spend time with my kids when they come home from school,” echoes Madera. “I don’t have to ask somebody to do that and get that approval or feel like I’m asking for too much—I have the ownership of that.”
Waterhouse, 31, confirmed pregnancy rumors while on stage at Corona Capital 2023 Music Festival in Mexico City on Sunday, November 19. “I thought I’d wear something sparkly to distract you from something else I’ve got going on,” she said while gesturing at her baby bump, per social media footage. “I’m not sure it’s working.”
The short, sparkly dress hugged her growing stomach, highlighting her pregnancy. Her baby bump previously sparked pregnancy speculation while out and about with Pattinson, 37.
Us Weekly confirmed the pair’s relationship in August 2018, with a source exclusively telling us that the two had been “dating for months.” The Twilight star and the model had “known each other and been around each other for a long time,” the insider added.
In April 2019, Pattinson made his first public comments about his relationship with Waterhouse, expressing his desire to keep their romance as private as possible. “Do I have to [talk about her]?” he reluctantly said in an interview with The Sunday Times, adding that he prefers to keep his love life out of the spotlight because “if you let people in, it devalues what love is.”
He continued: “I can’t understand how someone can walk down the street holding hands, and it’s the same as when I do it and a hundred people are taking your photo. The line between when you’re performing and when you’re not will eventually get washed away and you’ll go completely mad.”
Though the twosome sparked engagement rumors in January 2020 when Waterhouse was spotted with a gold ring on her left hand. However, neither star confirmed or denied their relationship status.
Suki Waterhouse and Robert Pattinson.Stephane Cardinale – Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images
In May 2020, Pattinson seemingly discussed his romance with Waterhouse in an interview with GQ. He mentioned that he was staying “with his girlfriend” in an apartment that “the Batman folks rented for him” during a pause in production.
From Twilight to Twigs! Robert Pattinson rose to stardom as a brooding romantic lead — and his love life off screen is anything but predictable. Following his turn as Cedric Diggory in the fourth and fifth Harry Potter films, the British actor nabbed his biggest role as Edward Cullen in the Twilight franchise. The first […]
Although the two have opted to keep their relationship relatively private, Pattinson gave fans a peek into their union in February 2022 when sharing that Waterhouse cried while watching him in The Batman.
“It was really [Waterhouse’s] reaction that kind of changed the entire thing [for me], because I’m pretty sure she’s not normally into watching superhero movies,” the Devil All the Time actor shared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! at the time. “And just seeing that it was capturing her attention the entire time and then she held my hand and touched it [to her face] and I could feel a little tear. And I was like, ‘No way!’”
In December 2022, the couple made their first red carpet appearance together at the Dior pre-fall 2023 menswear show in Egypt.
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Prior to his romance with Waterhouse, Pattinson was involved in several high-profile relationships. He famously dated FKA Twigs from 2014 to 2017, as well as his Twilight costar Kristen Stewart from 2009 to 2013.
Waterhouse, for her part, dated Bradley Cooperfrom 2013 to 2015 and Diego Luna from 2016 to 2017. She has also been linked to James Marsden, Nat Wolff and Miles Kane.
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