This archive report was first published on 23 July 2019.
Actress Lake Bell Opens Up About Traumatic Home Birth ¶
Published on July 23, 2019, Lake Bell shared her traumatic home birth experience with her costar Dax Shepard on his podcast, Armchair Expert.
She gave birth to both of her children at home, but her son's birth turned out to be quite traumatic. Lake's daughter Nova was born with the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck, but she was safely delivered with the help of her midwife. However, her son Ozgood was not so lucky.
"I was huge, he was 11 pounds," Lake said. "The same thing happened, I was at home and he had the cord wrapped around and he was on my chest. He was not coming to."
Her son was rushed to the hospital, and Lake had to remain at home to give birth to the placenta. She was left feeling anxious and responsible for what happened to her son.
"I took it on because I insisted on having a home birth," she says. "I’ve dealt with that since. You could blame the midwife, you could blame yourself, but ultimately the result is the only thing that matters."
After the traumatic experience, Lake went through therapy and was medicated for a year and a half to help regulate her emotions. She has since weaned herself off antidepressants but still takes them to function.
