Yahoo Movies Anna Faris on the tough emotions she felt when her son was born prematurely
Actress Anna Faris just spoke candidly about the range of emotions she felt after her and ex-husband Chris Pratt's son, Jack, was born seven weeks prematurely. "My mind would constantly return to the 'why'," she said during a recent conference on premature births. "Why did my water break? So of course I tried to look for answers."
Recounting the night that she went into labour, during the GAPPS (the Global Alliance to Prevent Prematurity and Stillbirth) virtual event, Anna said, "I was surprised that for my first pregnancy I was somewhat energetic and I didn't experience any nausea. So when I woke up in the middle of the night in a small puddle of fluid, I truly didn't have any idea what to do."
She added, according to People, that she was 35-years-old at the time and that her gynaecologist had "delicately" referred to her as having a "geriatric pregnancy", but that she had felt "healthy and happy" up until that point.
Anna, who is also a board member for GAPPS, explained that she then went to hospital and doctors told her she'd be delivering soon. After a week of bedrest, Jack was born weighing 3 lbs and 10 oz.
Jack was then take to intensive care, where he was kept under observation for a month. Discussing the emotional repercussions of this experience, Anna said, "I tried to look for answers... I asked my doctor if my dream could have caused my water to break. I asked her if the baby's nails could have torn the sack, I asked her if my sack was lacking something, if I ran too much, if I ran too little."
She added, "I did gain 60 lbs, I was up to 160 lbs, and my doctor suggested at one point that I ease up on maple bars."
Ultimately, Anna said, she found it hard to switch off - despite in many cases of premature births, no known reason can be found. "I couldn't stop searching. I was asking her if the geriatric thing had something to do with it, if the cold cuts that I ate… I couldn't turn off my own hamster wheel in searching for answers," she told those tuning in to the virtual event.
"The truth is, in many of these cases, we have no idea why this happens... GAPPS' number one goal is prevention... and in order to prevent premature births, we need answers."
It's incredible of Anna to speak to openly about her difficult experience in order to help others. If you'd like to find out more about GAPPS' work, you can visit their website here.
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