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Gwyneth Paltrow Says She 'Almost Died' While Giving Birth To Apple

Gwyneth Paltrow Says She 'Almost Died' While Giving Birth To Apple
  • Gwyneth Paltrow, 49, just opened up about her daughter Apple's emergency caesarean section birth.

  • "It was crazy, we almost died," she said in a brand new podcast episode.

  • Gwyneth also shared why she thinks today's beauty standards for new moms are unrealistic and damaging.


Gwyneth Paltrow, 49, is not holding back. In a brand new interview, she's opening up for the first time about her daughter Apple's "crazy" caesarean section birth. On a recent episode of the Armchair Expert podcast, hosted by Dax Shepard and Monica Padman, Gwyneth was honest about her experiences as a new mom.

FYI, a caesarean section (a.k.a. C-section) birth refers to when a baby is delivered surgically through incisions in the mother's abdomen and uterus, according to the Mayo Clinic. Usually, a C-section is ordered when there's a complication that would make a regular, vaginal delivery dangerous for mom, the baby, or both. This could range from getting "stuck" in labor, the baby flipping upside down or sideways, or an issue with the placenta or umbilical cord.

Gwyneth explained that both of her children (Apple, 17, and Moses, 15) were delivered via C-section. But Apple's 70-hour labor was "scary," she added, per the Daily Mail: "My daughter was an emergency, it was crazy, we almost died. It was like not good."

Back in 2013, Gwyneth revealed to the Daily Mail that she "nearly died" after a miscarriage. "I had a really bad experience when I was pregnant with my third. It didn’t work out and I nearly died. So I am like, 'Are we good here or should we go back and try again?’" she said.

After Apple's birth, Gwyneth said she had to get used to new changes in her body. "There’s a big scar across your body, and you’re like, ‘Oh wow, that didn’t used to be there.’ And it’s not that it’s bad or you want to judge it, but you’re just like, ‘Oh, my God,'" she continued.

The Politician actress also pushed back against the beauty standards for new moms that float around social media platforms, like immediately losing baby weight. “Thank God there wasn’t Instagram when I had babies because now it’s like if I see someone, ‘Oh, I just gave birth two weeks ago and I have a completely washboard stomach,’ and I’m like, ‘Wow that’s not what I [looked like],'" she said.

“And like great, more power to the lady with the washboard [abs], but that is totally the exception,” Gwyneth added. “And then now we’re being fed all of these other images of what we’re supposed to look like all the time—babies, no babies, whatever.”

She also commented on the pressure new moms face when deciding whether to breastfeed their babies or use formula instead. Instead, women should be “friends with each other,” Gwyneth said.

“Guess what, whatever it is, it’s OK,” she continued. “I feel like we also have this weird thing around. It’s past perfectionism. It’s like I can do this gargantuan task that’s superhuman and why? For what?”

Exactly, Gwyneth!

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