Many people are curious about how celebrities handle certain circumstances. What does it look like when they travel? How are the choices they make for their kids different? How do they handle pregnancy? I know I’m curious! And, I’m curious about some of the pettiest of details!
Where will they give birth? Are they a wimp about labor pains? How much weight will they gain? I assume this curiosity about how they’re handling things makes it tougher for them to stay connected to what works best for them. I think it would be such a distraction to know that the world is watching and commenting. And, inevitably, the world is not going to have the whole story! We don’t know what’s going on in Angelina’s or Jennifer Gardner’s or Gwen Stefani’s heads. Pregnancy, as we know, is a very personal experience. At the same time, it’s very easy to project our feelings on others because we can have such strong thoughts and feelings about our pregnancies. I would think celebrities are often misunderstood. I would think their experiences are often trivialized in the writings and viewpoints of others.
Now maybe this isn’t the typical celebrity experience at all. Maybe it’s my concerns about being judged that are talking. In fact, I’m pretty certain that is what drives my assumptions in this area!
Please join the conversation: What do you make up about what it must be like for celebrities during pregnancy? Or maybe you know a celebrity, so you’ve heard about what it’s like. Tell us! How do you think the experience of being pregnant is different when you’re in the spotlight?
I’m so glad you brought up this topic. I have mixed feelings about celebrity pregnancies. On the one hand, I remember when it was not fashionable for celebrities to have a “bump” and I appreciate the model of it being healthy, even sexy and glamorous to be out and about while pregnant. This really struck me when Catherine Zeta-Jones performed at the Oscars (the year of Chicago) while VERY pregnant. I think it’s led to better and more fashionable maternity clothing, and more openness about pregnancy in general for the rest of us.
On the other hand, when we see celebrities mere weeks after birth, looking just like they did before they were pregnant, I think it sends a pretty demoralizing message to the rest of us about recovery etc etc. I often have the uncharitable thought “Yeah, easy for you with your live-in nanny and full-time personal trainer!” At the same time, I imagine the pressure to “get back to normal” must be tremendous on these women — after all, their career is only as active as their last box office success, and the world certainly is watching. I think celebrities who talk about taking time off to be full-time moms, or who can mix their career with their parenting are great examples and I appreciate them speaking out about it, and standing by those choices.
I also wonder about how celebrities choose their birth plans and such. I remember hearing about elective C-sections on the rise with celebrities and feeling disheartened and disapproving, but then again, if your paycheck is dependent on your abs, I can see why… although, from everything I’ve heard, C-section recovery is tougher all around!
Overall, I think it must be very tough to have your private life in the public so much. And pregnancy is such a turmoil anyway, adding interviews in to the mix must be really rough. At the same time, I think pregnant celebrities are in a unique position to really advocate for their choices — if they are in favor of natural childbirth or whatever, they have a great forum to speak out — they already have an audience ready to listen to them.
It’s always beautiful to hear from “Expect the Best while You’re Expecting”.
Regarding celebrities, and perhaps you are aware of it, Shirley Temple wrote an autobiography – “Child Star” – in which the first chapter is a description of what her mother wished for while pregnant with her. Quite an amazing piece of information.