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Hailey Bieber Opened Up About Her Traumatic Birth Story for the 1st Time
"They broke my water. I went into labor and I labored for a few hours. No epidural, nothing," Bieber told Vogue, adding that she also suffered postpartum hemorrhage, and doctors struggled to get her blood to clot.
Photo: Getty Images Celebrities
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On Tuesday, Vogue unveiled its latest cover girl as none other than Hailey Bieber. In the accompanying story, Bieber spoke about her marriage to Justin Bieber: “There’s a new headline every two days that makes no sense.”; her company, Rhode: “In my wildest dreams, it’s already gone beyond what I would’ve hoped for.”; her relationship to the tabloids: “I’ve been in a position where I’ve tried to tell my side of a story or correct a narrative or tell the truth of a lie and then they go, Well, she’s lying. Imagine how trapping that feels.”; and her feelings on motherhood: “It’s been my biggest teacher so far.”
All in all, it paints a shockingly interesting portrait of someone I’m admittedly not typically interested in. Among the most illuminating revelations from Bieber, however, is her difficult birthing story.
“Giving birth was the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” Bieber told Vogue, adding that she took great pains (breathing exercises, acupuncture, yoga, pelvic-floor therapy, workouts, walking, weight training, etc.) to prepare her body to welcome her son, Jack, in the healthiest way possible. “I was on that shit. I was doing everything,” she said. “I felt stronger physically than I ever had before.”
However, after Bieber began leaking amniotic fluid at 39 weeks, she had no choice but to be induced. As she described to Vogue, her doctors used Pitocin to induce contractions and a Foley balloon (a device that’s inserted into the uterus and inflated with saline to dilate the uterus). In total, Bieber labored for 18 hours.
“That shit was so crazy,” Bieber recalled. “That was not fun. They broke my water. I went into labor and I labored for a few hours. No epidural, nothing.” The trauma didn’t end there. Bieber also underwent postpartum hemorrhaging. Terrifyingly, Bieber recalled doctors not immediately knowing how to get her blood to clot after giving birth—which could lead to hypovolemic shock, organ failure, and death, if not treated quickly. She told Vogue the emergency made her recall the mini-stroke she had in 2022.
“I trust my doctor with my life,” Bieber said. “But I was bleeding really badly, and people die, and the thought crosses your mind.”