How the A-List Give Birth!
On camera, to the sound of their own music, even in complete silence - read about how the stars give birth
Rex FeaturesKim Kardashian & Kanye West
Kim Kardashian’s daughter North was born a little earlier than expected, after the reality TV star was diagnosed with pre-eclampsia and liver failure risk. The labour was five weeks ahead of schedule and Kanye West had to scramble back to LA to be at the birth. Despite living their life in front of the camera, the pair decided that the birth would not be filmed for Keeping Up With The Kardashians.
WennKourtney Kardashian & Scott Disick
When Kourtney Kardashian gave birth to her daughter, Penelope, she was watched, not only by her entire family, but also the TV-viewing public. The star even managed to pull her own baby out with the help of hospital staff.
PA PhotosKate Middleton & Prince William
Kate Middleton had the world’s press waiting outside the Lindo Wing of St Mary’s Hospital, when she gave birth to Prince George. Despite the hysteria surrounding the arrival, the Duchess is thought to have had a relatively routine delivery, with George being delivered naturally by The Queen’s Surgeon-Gynaecologist Marcus Setchell. Although we guess he’s not so routine.
Rex FeaturesDemi Moore & Bruce Willis
Demi Moore is used to living her life in front of the camera – and that includes even when she’s in labour. When she gave birth to her first child, Rumer Willis, in 1988, the actress hired three cameramen to record the event for posterity. Nice.
Rex FeaturesMatthew McConaughey & Camila Alves
What did Matthew McConaughey do when Brazilian girlfriend Camila Alves went into labour in 2008? He turned DJ. “We got tribal on it, we danced to it! I was DJ-ing this Brazilian music. We were jamming! She was sweating. No painkiller, let’s go,” he said. The music wasn’t just to create an atmosphere however, the model used the music to help control her contractions. “The doctor wanted to give her an epidural, and we said, "Give us a few more hours to keep rocking with this”.
Angelina Jolie & Brad Pitt
For the birth of their first biological daughter Shiloh, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie hid themselves away in a small hospital in Namibia. “We were in this little hospital in Africa when Shi was born. I don’t think there was anybody else in the hospital. It was just a little cottage, the three of us. It ended up being the greatest thing. We had wonderful doctors and nurses. It was lovely, very personal, all three in this sweet room. We had an American doctor with us, who had met the Namibian doctors, and they worked in tandem because it was a C-section and my first and we didn’t know the country,” Angelina said.
Getty ImagesBusy Philipps & Marc Silverstein
The Cougar Town star actually pulled her own baby out (Yes, you read that correctly). Apparently after the doctor got her baby’s head and shoulders out, she asked if Busy wanted to do the rest. “She asked ‘Do you want to pull your baby out? Give me your hands,’” Busy revealed. “I didn’t even know my midwife took a picture of me with my hands pulling my daughter out. It was an incredible experience.”
Rex FeaturesGisele Bundchen & Tom Brady
We’re not sure we quite believe Gisele Bundchen’s account of the birth of her son, Benjamin. "It didn't hurt in the slightest,” she said – and she didn’t even use drugs! “My delivery was in a bathtub. I wanted to be very aware and present during the birth…I didn’t want to be drugged up,” said the model. The whole time my mind was focused in each contraction on the thought 'my baby is closer to coming out.'” Oh, if we could all be so lucky.
Xposurephotos.comKate Hudson & Chris Robinson
Kate Hudson had trouble with the paps when she went into labour with her first son Ryder. “The doctor said I could go home, but it was such a pain in the butt to get to the hospital because we were being stalked by photographers. I said, ‘I just don't want to do this again. Let's just have a C-section.’ And so I got drugged up."
Rex FeaturesJessica Alba & Cash Warren
Jessica Alba has a silent birth, according to husband Cash Warren. "She didn't make a sound. It was amazing," he said. The actress described the experience as “really zen”, adding that it wasn’t painful and “was more like meditation. I did yoga breathing. I was focused." Hmm.
Victoria Beckham/ TwitterVictoria & David Beckham
Famed for being “too posh to push”, Victoria Beckham gave birth to her three sons and daughter by Caesarean section. Apparently David Beckham wept tears of joy after the birth of the latter, which took place at the private Cedars Sinai clinic in LA.
Bigpicturesphoto.comGwyneth Paltrow & Chris Martin
Gwyneth Paltrow said she felt “euphoric” after giving birth to her children, Apple and Moses. The actress, who had a C-section, gushed: "The most euphoria I have ever experienced was having a baby - and that's something most women can and will experience in their lives. I think God did a good job with that one. That the most satisfying human experience out there is available to just about everyone who wants it."
Bigpicturesphoto.comKate Winslet & Jim Threapleton
Kate Winslet admitted lying about the birth of her daughter Mia. The actress said she felt a “failure” because she’d wanted to have a natural birth but been forced to opt for a C-section. “I just said that I had a natural birth because I was so completely traumatised by the fact that I hadn't given birth. I felt like a complete failure.” How wrong could you have been Kate!
PA PhotosHolly Willoughby & Dan Baldwin
When Holly Willoughby gave birth to daughter Belle, her labour became a trending topic on Twitter. Over 675K Twitter fans followed the event, which was tweeted about by Holly’s showbiz friends, Phillip Schofield and Fearne Cotton. Updates included: “Latest news is that @hollywills is in labour and at my last text from hubby Dan, fancied a bit of pizza he made today :)” and “Still no news from @hollywills will let you know as soon as I do.”
Rex FeaturesCharlotte Church & Gavin Henson
Think birth is easier the second time round? That’s not the case according to Charlotte Church. “It hurt more this time because Dexter was in an awkward position in my pelvis,” she said. “I was shouting for pethidine, but by the time they got it ready I was ready to push.”
WennColeen & Wayne Rooney
Wayne Rooney might be a hard man on the football pitch but, when wife Coleen gave birth to their son Kai, he couldn’t stop crying. “When Col gave birth, Wayne's eyes welled up. As soon as he was handed the baby, the tears began,” an insider said.
Bigpicturesphoto.comDannii Minogue & Kris Smith
Dannii Minogue had planned to give birth to her son at home – but things took a rather dramatic turn when she was rushed to hospital with complications. To keep her birth a secret, Dannii used a false name on entering hospital. Fortunately everything was fine and baby Ethan was born healthy on 5 July.
PA PhotosEmma Bunton & Jade Jones
Baby Spice Emma Bunton officially grew up when she gave birth to a son called Beau in 2007. To celebrate the birth, Emma tucked into some flapjacks and Coca-Cola (now, that’s our girl!)
WennGwen Stefani & Gavin Rossdale
The usually uber cool Gwen Stefani admitted feeling “gross” after giving birth to her second son Zuma in August 2008. In fact the experience even put her off writing music. “I hadn’t planned on doing a tour; I’d had Zuma, I felt so gross — I got so big and felt so out of touch and not cool. I was trying to write this cool record and nothing came out,” she said. Thankfully, the star has definitely got her mojo back now.
Bigpicturesphoto.comJennifer Lopez & Marc Anthony
She’s been accused of being a diva but Jennifer Lopez said giving birth changed the way she looked at things. “There’s nothing as huge as giving birth to another human being and having to be responsible for another life. There’s you before kids, and there’s you after kids – and they’re not the same as you,” she said after welcoming twins Emme and Max.
Rex FeaturesMiranda Kerr & Orlando Bloom
Miranda Kerr went into rather too much detail about the birth of her son Flynn. She admitted that she wouldn’t let husband Orlando Bloom leave her side during the labour – not even to answer a call of nature. “I wouldn’t even lеt hіm leave during іt. Hе hаd tο pee іn a bottle. Hе stayed thеrе thе whole time, hе іѕ a wonderful father аnd I аm really blessed,” she revealed.
PA PhotosJohnny Depp & Vanessa Paradis
Johnny Depp certainly had words of wisdom for womankind after watching girlfriend Vanessa Paradis give birth. “You know, when you welcome a child into the world, you witness the birth of your child, and you've been there for that nine month period, you realize that there's no doubt, there's no question that women are the stronger of the sexes. There's no doubt. Any man who had to carry a child for nine months would cave in about month or two. And then delivery, you know labor? Yeah, it's over with.” Go Johnny!
WennSophie Ellis Bextor & Richard Jones
Sophie Ellis-Bextor had two difficult births with her sons. Her first, Sonny, was born eight weeks premature by emergency caesarean while her second, Kitt, was delivered nine weeks early, after Sophie was diagnosed with the life-threatening condition, pre-eclampsia.
Rex FeaturesKatie Holmes & Tom Holmes
Katie Holmes was the first celebrity to partake in what became known as a silent birth. Tom Cruise denied that Katie herself would have to stay quiet, saying "It's basically just respecting the mother, you know, and helping to be quiet -- not the mother. The mother makes as much noise... You know, she's going through it," he said. But this seems to have been contradicted by photos of signs reminding Katie of her vow of silence. “Be silent and make all physical movements slow and understandable,” one of them read.
PA PhotosTilda Swinton
Tilda Swinton has compared giving birth to murder. The actress, who has twins, commented: “[Giving birth is] a truly, truly murderous business. It’s violent. And if one doesn’t embrace that, if one can’t embrace it – and it’s really tough to do that – then you’re up a gum tree because it means you’re going to be cutting off a whole part of yourself.”
Rex FeaturesDenise Van Outen & Lee Mead
Denise Van Outen gave birth to daughter Betsey one Saturday lunchtime. The pair said they were “proud and ecstatic” after the labour. The TV presenter had previously said that she was nervous about giving birth. "Lee wants to hold my hand and I'm so glad he'll be there,” she said.
Jools & Jamie Oliver
Jamie Oliver got his much-longed-for son, Buddy Bear in 2010 after wife Jools had a “hard and fast labour” that lasted just two hours and a half hours. “In a way it would have been easier to have had a girl. We’re not prepared for a boy – there’s no blue in the house,” joked the chef.
rex featuresAlicia Keys & Swizz Beatz
Alicia Keys made sure she got to VIP treatment during her labour with baby Egypt Dean. According to nurses, the singer checked herself into the exclusive celebrity section of St Luke’s Hospital in NY.
PA PhotosAlicia Silverstone & Christopher Jarecki
Alicia Silverstone didn’t leave the house for six weeks after giving birth to Bear Blu. “I wanted to soak in every moment of his scrumptiousness,” she said of her hibernation.
Mariah Carey & Nick Cannon
Mariah Carey didn’t opt for any, old soundtrack when she gave birth to twins Moroccan and Monroe this year. The famous diva spurred on the kiddies with her own hit Fantasy blaring in the background. "My wife wanted to make sure that when the babies came out, that they came out not only to a Mariah Carey song, but a live performance from Mariah Carey - her Madison Square Garden performance of Fantasy - so they came out to a round of applause," said husband Nick Cannon.
