Which of These Celebrities Have Had Homebirths?

What does a homebirther look like to you? Do they wear Birkenstocks, belong to the Green Party, avoid deodorant like the plague and vegan-ize their weirdo unschooled kids? Sure, maybe some do, but homebirth isn’t just for hippies. Can you guess which of these celebrities have had homebirths?

The answer: ALL OF THEM!

While Cesarean rates in the US have reached an all time high of 34%, there was a 20% increase in the popularity of homebirth over the last four years, hinting that women are becoming more educated about their choices, autonomy and true safety as a low-risk woman in the American maternity system. Many speculate that much of this is due to more and more celebrities choosing to give their children the most gentle, safe, and intimate entrance into the world by delivering at home. It is my belief that this is not a huge contributing factor, but rather a reflection of the backlash against the often insensitive and highly-interventive protocols women are subjected to in hospital labor and delivery wards. Those who are unfamiliar with the practice of homebirth often see advocates as crazy and irresponsible hippies, but with at least 28,357 families choosing to bring their babies into the world in the comfort of their own homes last year, homebirthing mamas are anything but. Here are some notable celebs who loved their home births:

Gisele Bundchen

The world’s highest paid supermodel has been very open to the media about her homebirth and is also a  huge breastfeeding advocate, even rustling some feathers among formula-feeding moms when she said in an interview that the entire world should follow in Indonesia’s legislative footsteps by requiring all mothers to breastfeed for at least the first 6 months unless medically unable.
Gisele birthed her precious Benjamin in her bathtub, supported by her midwife, mother, and her Patriot’s Quarterback husband, Tom Brady. Gisele says one of the reasons she chose to birth at home was that, “I wanted to be conscious and present for what was happening. I didn’t want to be anesthetized. I wanted to experience the transformation.”
She says her son’s birth “wasn’t painful…not even a little bit” and contributes her easy labor to lots of yoga and meditation, stating that during each contraction she was focused on the thought “my baby is closer to coming out“. The supermodel says of the experience, “Giving birth was the most intense and life-changing experience of my life. I am blessed to have had the opportunity to deliver at home, surrounded by love and where I felt safe. It was a really great experience. I never felt so vulnerable, but so strong at the same time.” and “It was the most amazing experience of my life, feeling him come through my body. And once he was born, I never felt so empowered as looking at him and thinking, ‘Oh, my God, we did it together!”

Michelle Alves

Fellow Victoria’s Secret model Michelle Alves recently gave birth to son Levi, fathered by Madonna’s long-time manager Guy Oseary, of which she says, “He was born a little bit over 7 pounds on December 29th. It was a natural birth at home with a midwife, a nurse and a doula. It was such a beautiful experience! My mom, sister and, of course, my husband were also in the room.”

Pamela Anderson

The blonde bombshell may be oft-criticized for being too fake, but when it comes to giving life, nothing could be farther from the truth. Also a staunch breastfeeding advocate, the mother of two reveals, “”I gave birth at home both times — natural — with a midwife, in water . . . with nothing, not even Tylenol.”

Jennifer Connelly

The 40 year old mama gave birth to baby #3, daughter Agnes Lark, this past May. Agnes was born in a birthing pool at home supported by husband Paul Bettany.

Cindy Crawford

Attended by a midwife and a nurse, Cindy Crawford gave birth to both of her children, Presley and Kaia, at her home in Brentwood, citing privacy as one of the benefits to home birth. “I’m a big advocate of home births if the pregnancy’s been healthy,” she reveals. “I didn’t tell anyone last time because a lot of people are against home birth and tell you horror stories. Even my husband said at first, ‘Why are we doing this?’. We also didn’t let anyone come around for the first three days. We really kept that time for ourselves…”

Evangeline Lilly
LOST star Evangeline Lilly gave birth to her first son last May during a thunderstorm in Hawaii. She told Jay Leno, “I actually skipped the hospital… We decided to have the baby at home because we wanted it to be a natural birth, and it turns out that it was 30 hours of natural…”
The hardest part? “Eight hours of pushing, that’s the part that men don’t understand. Women go, ‘Oh, dear, oh, dear God, eight hours of pushing?’ And the men are like, ‘Okay, eight hours of pushing’.” Thankfully her midwife and doula stepped in to provide comfort and support. The little one, whose name she has not yet revealed, is Hawaiian for “the thunder”.

Carrie Anne Moss

In a letter for The Big Push For Midwives campaign, the Matrix star boasts, “I have had two babies using the care of a midwife, the first was delivered (by the midwife) in a hospital setting. The second baby was delivered in our home. With both experiences, the midwife made the pregnancy experience and birth so honored and beautiful. The Midwives Model of Care is unlike using traditional obstetric care, in that it is family-centered and focuses strongly on the mother’s well-being as an important factor in a good birth outcome. I still treasure memories of the meetings I had throughout both pregnancies”… “I have no such memories about my Obstetrician appointments”.

Alyson Hannigan

37 year old comedienne Alyson Hannigan have birth to daughter Satyana, who’s name means “truth” in Sanskrit, in a birth pool in 2009. She says of her midwife and doula-assisted home birth, “It wasn’t something I knew I was going to do before I got pregnant, but once I was pregnant, I did more research and I watched The Business of Being Born and that sealed the deal. It’s not the right choice for everyone, but it definitely was for me. I never wavered on it. I knew if I needed to go to the hospital I would, but thankfully everything went well and it was a magnificent experience. Never once was I unhappy that I was not in a hospital. I was very grateful that I was in the privacy of my own home.” By the way, is this not the cutest family picture ever?

Maria Bello

44 year old actress Maria Bello recalls the introduction of her 10 year old son Jackson Blue, saying, “It was 22 hours of labor and a thunderstorm with nothing more than an aspirin. I never felt so much love and fear at the same time… I had this notion that would be the way to do it. I had a midwife, and after 12 hours I said, “We’re going to stay here and stick it out.” Believe me, there were times where I wanted to say, “Get the ambulance — I’m done.” But then I thought, “I can do anything for 24 hours” and it was almost exactly 24 hours. I can’t imagine giving birth in a sterile environment like a hospital.”

Maya Rudolph

Unlike the rest of the celebs on this list, Saturday Night Live alum Maya Rudolph never planned on having second daughter Lucille at home, but it seems like the little one had a plan of her own. During an interview on Chelsea Lately, she says, “That was not my plan, but that’s what happened. The baby came really fast… she just kind of gently glided into her father’s arms”. She says it was, “scary but kind of awesome”, adding “Hospitals make me nervous. I don’t know about you, but I feel like hospital equals death, like it smells like dead people to me, like weird fluids that pickle people.”

Julianne Moore

While her role in the film “9 Months”, starring opposite Hugh Grant brought us one of the most iconic and ridiculous birth scenes in all of cinema, Julianne Moore chose a decidedly calmer way to bring her daughter Liv into the world in 2002.

Alanis Morissette

After announcing her pregnancy, Alanis told the media, “Our intention is to do a natural birth at home. But I ‘get’ that the baby has his own intentions. I have an amazing midwife, and I’m using a doula. But we have a backup plan: I’ve called all the doctors, and we’ll be ready if something should happen.” Her little boy Ever was born on Christmas Day.

Christy Turlington

While not a home-birther, Christy Turlington-Burns chose to deliver naturally in a birth center, a great choice for those who want to stay away from the hospital but don’t feel completely comfortable at home. I mention Christy because she is a perfect example of what happens when something does go wrong. Christy experienced a severe postpartum hemorrhage when her placenta failed to detach from her uterine wall. Thankfully, as required by all birth centers and homebirths, a hospital was nearby to which Christy and her new daughter Grace were able to transfer and be treated successfully. Christy Turlington-Burns is now an outspoken advocate for global maternal health, traveling to 3rd world countries to assess what is needed in global maternity care and even creating a documentary on the issue, titled “No Woman No Cry”.

Mayim Bialik

Mayim Bialik, of Blossom and The Big Bang Theory fame, is also a spokesperson for the Holistic Moms Network and holds a Ph.D. in Neuroscience. She has written fantastic articles on the subject of homebirth, including this one for Today.com. Mayim says of her homebirth with second son Fred, “Fred, yes, was born at home, and Miles was able to watch the whole thing from his high chair while eating granola. Fortunately it was a very fast labor because I think Miles would’ve been bored if it was longer than the hour and a half it was. He loves it, he still talks about it. It was something we talked about with our pediatrician, and believed very strongly in older siblings being present, and giving the choice. We gave him a choice before, we prepared him with videos about homebirth that our midwife prepared. Even during, I said, “If Miles wants to go the next room he can!” But he said, “No, I fine!”. I think the ultimate message is that for those that want to have a natural birth; there are ways to do it successfully and healthily. It is beneficial to the mother and the baby. I refuse to give in to a set of beliefs that makes women afraid of their bodies and birth. I have been very open about our birth stories; my first son was born in a hospital after a weekend of labor at home, but I didn’t use any pain medication and my second son was born at home unassisted until pushing, with my almost 3 year old watching the whole thing from his highchair. It has been documented that most births can proceed successfully if left uninterrupted and without medical interventions – but you need to be surrounded by a community that understands that birth doesn’t progress a centimeter an hour. That’s not normal nor has it ever been”.

Thandie Newton

Both of Thandie Newton’s girls, Nico and Ripley, were born at home. She speaks very highly of the natural birth process, saying it was “very challenging in the best way possible. Every fiber of your being is alive. It’s like you are conducting electricity, literally creating something. I’d like to give birth every year if I could, just for that experience.”

Kaitlin Olson

Kaitlin Olson of It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia fame, says that while she is “incredibly grateful to have access to Western medicine”, she sees childbirth as a natural process that doesn’t require medical intervention unless truly necessary. She says for the birth of Axel last year, “I decided on a home birth because I believe that as long as a pregnancy is normal and complication-free, your body knows what to do and does not need medical intervention. I think the key to having a baby naturally is being able to completely relax and get out of the way of your body’s ability to get the job done.” She admits the announcement of her (and husband/co-star Rob McElhenney’s) plans to friends and family understandably had mixed reactions. “Most of our friends have been very supportive because they know us well enough to know that we are the kind of people who do our research and make informed decisions. The people who panic and think we are crazy are the ones who haven’t done any research themselves”, adding, “I don’t blame them though. We aren’t really taught much about childbirth and labor in America. On TV and in movies, most of what you see on the subject are women screaming in pain and a lot of emergency c-sections. The fact of the matter is that countries whose standard is for women to deliver their babies at home with midwives have the lowest complication, intervention and infant fatality rates.”
UPDATE: On April 5th, Kaitlin and Rob welcomed their second son, Leo Grey, earthside at 1:15 AM after” 23 very, very long hours”. At 19 inches long and 8 lbs. 5 oz., Leo is the couple’s second baby and second homebirth. Rock on!

Felicity Huffman

The Desperate Housewife reportedly welcomed both of her daughters, Sofia and Georgia, at home supported by her husband and fellow actor William H. Macy. The pair have been together for an astounding 29 years!

Kelly Preston

While the birth of their late son Jet was a Pitocin-induced hospital birth, Kelly and husband John Travolta stuck with the Scientology tradition of a silent home birth for daughter Ella Bleu, who weighed an even 9 pounds. Following Ella’s arrival, Kelly was gleaming, saying “It was wonderful. We just walked around, my husband and I. We ate, we walked, we laughed. He sort of massaged me and I was just in labor, laboring that whole time.”
The actress describes it as “just a peaceful, beautiful entry into this earth,” although she, like most women welcoming their babies at home, remembers at one point during her 13 hour labor shouting out, “Throw me in the car! I want an epidural!”

Stella Tennant

The British Chanel model said of her reasons for staying away from the hospital to give birth to her 2 daughters, Jasmine and Cecily, “I am not afraid of hospital but I felt that if there were no complications with my pregnancy I would prefer to give birth in the familiar surroundings of my flat. I wanted to take as much responsibility as possible for the birth of my child.”

Kirsty Hume

Former Victoria’s Secret and Versace model Kirsty Hume welcomed her baby girl Violet at home in 2004.

Josie Maran

If you opened a magazine even once in the 90’s, chances are you’ve seen model Josie Maran’s gorgeous Maybelline and Guess ads. The model, who now has her own organic cosmetics line, raves about the home birth of her daughter Rumi. She says of the pain: “On a scale of 1 to 10, I’d say it was an 8, but it was wonderful pain”. The birth took place in her backyard, surrounded by her family, and she used a birth pool as pain relief, also preparing for the event with lots of yoga and childbirth education classes. The experience was not perfect however. When asked how people reacted to her decision, she says they were, “all negative. People were afraid, confused and shocked.” When Rumi was born, she was blue and not breathing. After calling 911, Josie began to sing to Rumi, the same song she sang often during her pregnancy. “She immediately opened her eyes, began to breath and we connected for the first time. It was so cool.”

Lucy Lawless

The Kiwi actress who brought a shield-wielding, leather-clad Xena to life in the 90’s and inspired me to kick ass and ravenously hunt for my own Hercules-like man couldn’t help but tell the world about the blissful water birth of son Julius. “‘Nothing was more natural than having him in water. The water temperature in the birthing pool is similar to a mother’s body temperature. The baby is essentially floating in water for nine months so it’s a smoother transition when they are born.” In 2002 after her son’s birth, Lucy posed for promotional ads aiming to bring awareness to World Breastfeeding Week with the tagline “Breastfeeding – my best role ever“.

Meryl Streep

While it has not been confirmed just how many of her children were born at home, the greatest actress of modern times has made it known that at least one of them has. Meryl has one son and three daughters: Henry, “Mamie”, Grace, and Louisa.

Jade Jagger

While her own birth was a media event in itself, Mick Jagger’s daughter chose to give birth to her rock n roll heiresses, Amba Isis and Assisi Lola, a little more privately.

Laura Dern

The Jurassic Park and I Am Sam actress has two children with Grammy award-winning musician Ben Harper, son Ellery and daughter Jaya, who was born at home.

Erykah Badu

In what should come as no surprise, soul singer Erykah Badu welcomed son Seven Sirius, and daughters Puma Sabti and Mars Merkaba at home. Erykah, who tweeted throughout her most recent labor following a dare from The Roots’ drummer Questlove, says of her decision to homebirth, “That’s the natural environment, the old way. There’s not a lot of fuss and moving around.” With Seven, Erykah says she was surrounded by a “very wise doula” and her midwives who gave her the “freedom” to do as she pleased during labor. “I didn’t have to uproot myself,” she says. “Maybe to some it’s scary, but preparation is the whole key. When a mother has found out she’s going to have a baby, her whole life — her diet, her mood, her energy — should kind of prepare her. After she prepares herself, fear is never a part of it. I expected success and health, so I made sure I surrounded myself with it. By the time I had my third baby, childbirth seemed a very natural part of life to me.” Erykah says her children’s involvement in welcoming baby Mars into the world was “very sacred”.
Erykah is also committed to being a very hands-on parent, from feeding her children macrobiotically and fulfilling the recommended 2 years of breastfeeding, to homeschooling Seven in an effort to teach him “how to solve problems in a nontraditional way”. While he is now enrolled in a traditional school, she says of her 14 year old, “He enjoys challenges…He pushes himself…He does his homework voluntarily.”
Erykah, who now works as a doula and is training to be a midwife herself, says her clients refer to her as “Erykah Ba-Doula”.

Charlotte Church

The Voice of an Angel singer couldn’t be happier after having her first daughter Ruby at home in water, attended by two midwives and her husband Gavin. In fact, she has done such an extensive and well-done interview with People magazine, I’ll just link to it here!

Asia Carrera

The adult film star, whom you may be surprised to learn is a classically-trained pianist and a member of MENSA, tells a bittersweet story for her second child’s entrance earthside. She and her husband Don had planned an unassisted birth; however he died in a fatal car accident just 6 weeks before she went into labor. Midwifery care was offered to her at no charge; however she declined, wanting to fulfill her plans with her late partner in his honor. She chose to give birth in front of the mantle, where Don’s picture was displayed, watching over her. When the unmanaged pain and fear of another 62 hour labor became overwhelming, Asia called the midwives for assistance. But when Asia answered the door to let the midwives in, she already had a healthy 8 lb. 10 oz. baby in her arms! After the birth she wrote on her blog, “Right now, I feel like a million bucks. Right now, I feel like I can take on the world! Hell, I delivered a baby all by myself, and I feel great! Now if only raising the baby can be as easy as having it… wish me luck – I’m gonna need it!”

Nelly Furtado

The Canadian Like A Bird singer is a self-described “hippie mum” who, when asked about her daughter Nevis’ entry into the world, simply replied, “I had a home birth with midwives”.

Joely Fisher

Actress Joely Fisher, of Ellen and ‘Til Death fame, describes her home birth as “spectacular”. “I decided to have her [True Harlow] at home and had a lot of friends around and of course her father was there. And of course, the doctor, the doula, the midwife, the butcher, baker and candlestick maker”.

Ricki Lake

Of course, this list wouldn’t be complete without mentioning Ricki Lake! The former (and future) talk show host was so inspired by her home birth to second son Owen, that she decided to create a documentary that would encourage women to educate themselves on birth choices and understand that home birth is a viable option for most women. Ricki is about to release a follow-up to the 2007 film, a series of four individual movies titled – what else? –  “More Business of Being Born”.

Ani DiFranco

The singer-songwriter, most famous for her controversial lyrics and political statements, says her views of feminism were greatly impacted by the home birth of her daughter. Now, I will mention that the following quote is relatively long, but I think what she says is very important, so bear with me :)

“The whole experience of childbirth and pregnancy was an introduction to feminist thought and study that I’d previously been unaware of, in terms of the way that childbirth was co-opted, and is so controlled by the medical/patriarchal establishment. It makes me really sad that women have been ejected from the seat of their power in this society in terms of what happens around childbirth. In other parts of the world, there are women who can’t drive a car, but they’re still in charge of childbirth. I look at my society and think, how emancipated are we, really? We can play basketball, but can we benefit from eons of women’s wisdom that accords a birthing woman the support and time to give birth healthily? Those elements are absent in our society for so many women.”

“I’ve always been very aware of the animal I am. If I walked into a fluorescent-lit hospital with people pressuring me to get it done, take drugs, get on my back, and put my legs up in the air, it wouldn’t have worked. As Ina May says, the cervix is a sphincter. It doesn’t open if it’s not relaxed. I knew I needed to be at home, comfortable – not feeling any pressure. I agree [with[ that whole school of thought that if I were drugged through that moment of revelation, it would have taken something away from my life journey. I’m really happy in the end that I felt every last bit of the pain, and was as present as I could be. Whenever you go through something terrifying and come out on the other side, you grow and have more self-respect in terms of your own strengths. I wanted that more than I wanted whatever sort of numbing that the hospital would have offered. The way I finally got my labor going after two days was to march up and down stairwells for hours, naked and screaming [laughs]. But that was a necessary part of my process.”

“The minute my child was born, I was reborn as a feminist. It’s so incredible what women do. I find it metaphorically resonant that a pregnant woman looks like she’s just sitting on a couch, but she’s actually exhausting herself constructing a human being. The laborious process of growing a human is analogous to how women’s work is seen. It’s hard to recognize, because men’s work has such extravagant evidence – skyscrapers, for instance – while much of women’s work just makes the world quietly turn.”

“Birthing naturally, as most women do around the globe, is a superhuman act. You leave behind the comforts of being human and plunge back into being an animal. My friend’s partner said, ‘Birth is like going for a swim in the ocean. Will there be a riptide? A big storm? Or will it be just a beautiful, sunny little dip?’ Its indeterminate length, the mystery of its process, is so much a part of the nature of birth. The regimentation of a hospital that wants to make it happen and use their gizmos to maximum effect is counter to birth in general.

Aside from the actresses, supermodels, singers, and *ahem* porn stars in this list, many of the “first-ladies” of Hollywood have also welcomed their babies at home. Here are just a few:

Owen Wilson and Jade Duell

On January 14th, 2011, Owen Wilson’s Federal Air Marshall girlfriend Jade Duell, gave birth to their bundle at his oceanside mansion in Maui. They may have made a mistake in announcing their plans, however, when high-profile doctors citing flawed studies began to publicly scold them for their choices, subsequently calling them dangerous and irresponsible. Those doctors may not have had much faith in Jade’s body, but she and Owen certainly did:  Their little guy, whom they named Ford, was born in water after 18 hours of labor and weighed out to a healthy 6 lbs. 13 oz.

Woody Harrelson and Laura Louie

Owen Wilson’s friend and neighbor may have influenced their decision to birth in familiar settings, after Woody’s three daughters (ages 18, 15, and 5) were, unsurprisingly, born at home long before little Ford.

Stephen and Tabitha King
Stephen King’s wife Tabitha has had all three of their children at home. While probably not surprising, I wanted to include it because of a quote from him that is featured in Ina May’s Guide To Childbirth. King says, ” “Believe me: if you are told that some experience is going to hurt, it will hurt. Most pain is in the mind, and when a woman absorbs the idea that the act of giving birth is excruciatingly painful-when she gets this information from her mother, her sisters, her married friends, and her physician-that woman has been mentally prepared to feel great agony.” As the master of horror, I imagine he knows a thing or two about how pain is manifested in the mind.

John Leguizamo and Justine Maurer

On John’s standup track “Home Birth or Bikini Wax”, the comedian reveals that the midwife had to reluctantly tell him that what he thought was a hopeful sign they had a boy was really just the umbilical cord ;)

Lenny Kravitz and Lisa Bonet

Lenny Kravitz and then-wife Lisa Bonet birthed daughter Zoe at home in 1988. Since their split, Lisa has gone on to welcome another daughter, Lola, at home.

Bear and Shara Grylls

After 2 less-than-awesome hospital births for sons Jesse and Marmaduke, the wildman’s wife Shara decided she wanted a better experience for her third son. In 2009, Huckleberry was born on the couple’s houseboat with Bear offering his wife homeopathic remedies. Bear says of being home, “she feels safe and secure, and she’s got me hovering over her with a toolbox. What more can an expecting mother want?”. He describes the experience as “brilliant” and his wife during the process as “amazing”. He even followed up on his blog saying, “Girls are so great in a big crisis. I’ve seen it in the mountains, too. Men are all great when it’s quite comfy and there’s lots of bravado, but when the shit really hits the fan, it’s the women who often come through.” I don’t know about you, but I like him already!

Dave Matthews and Ashley Harper

Dave reveals what he thinks was the best part about the birth of his son with wife Ashley, a naturopathic doctor, “We had him at home, which was nice, because I knew where the beer was”.

John and Nichole McGinley

John McGinley is most famous for his condescending taunts and comedic sarcasm as the impressively arrogant Dr. Cox on Scrubs. Wife Nichole, a doula and yoga instructor, gave birth to daughter Billie Grace at home in 2008. Billie was born in water and weighed out to 8 lbs. and 21 inches. John says of the experience, “Nichole was a mountain lion, a warrior in the birth process”, adding “The birth was astonishing!”

After reading the stories of 18 actresses, 8 models, 4 musicians, 8 celebrity wives, and 1 and a half porn stars, would you consider giving birth at home?