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.

Celebrities
Hailey Bieber Opened Up About Her Traumatic Birth Story for the 1st Time

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.”

Bieber, as the terminally online knows, has long weathered speculation about the health of her marriage. In recent months, rumors about her husband’s mental health and financial wellbeing have abounded. Though she doesn’t offer much about either, she does share some feelings about how becoming a parent has impacted her mental health.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Hailey Rhode Bieber (@haileybieber)

“The pregnancy was difficult for me to wrap my head around. It was a surprise, and you go through a lot of emotions,” Bieber said. “There are certain warnings: Your life is never going to be the same again. It changes in good ways, but it’s not going to be the same. You’re never going to be just an individual without a child ever again. And you’re not going to just be you and your partner, just the two of you. There was a lot for me mentally.”

Notably, Mr. Bieber also offered his thoughts on the record.

“I’m walking in the days I always dreamed of,” Justin told Vogue of having a child. And of his wife: “I’ve done a lot of dumb things in my life, but the smartest thing I’ve ever done was marry Hailey.”

Meanwhile, hours after the story went live, he posted a series of photos from the Vogue spread on Instagram with the caption, in part:

“Yo this reminds me when Hailey and I got into a huge fight. I told Hails that she would never be on the cover of Vogue. Yikes I know, so mean. For some reason because I felt so disrespected. I thought I gotta get even. I think as we mature we realize that we’re not helping anything by getting even we’re honestly just prolonging what we really want which is intimacy and connection.”

Well, let’s just say I’m keeping my fingers crossed for these two…


Like what you just read? You’ve got great taste. Subscribe to Jezebel, and for $5 a month or $50 a year, you’ll get access to a bunch of subscriber benefits, including getting to read the next article (and all the ones after that) ad-free. Plus, you’ll be supporting independent journalism—which, can you even imagine not supporting independent journalism in times like these? Yikes.

 
Join the discussion...