Gwyneth Paltrow is opening up about both of her birth experiences, one of which she says was utterly terrifying. Gwyneth's children, Moses and Apple, are 15 and 17. But, like most moms, she remembers their births like they happened just yesterday.
The Goop founder was a guest on Dax Shepard's Armchair Expert podcast on Monday. When the conversation turned to birth stories, Gwyneth had a lot to share, specifically about Apple's birth. "My daughter was an emergency, it was crazy, we almost died," she said. "It was like not good."
It's clear Gwyneth still has a lot of feelings about her children's births.
“Anyway, 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.'”
Gwyneth knows how important it is to find acceptance of your body, especially when you're postpartum. But she says that social media definitely doesn't help women with that. The 49-year-old says she actually thinks that the unrealistic expectations women are fed on the internet makes them feel pressured to get back to their post-baby bodies immediately after giving birth.
“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].’
A lot of people love to criticize Gwyneth for the ideas they have of her. But listening to Gwyneth share her birth experiences and acknowledge how important it is to ignore outside pressures is really empowering.
She continued, “And like great, more power to the lady with the washboard [abs], but that is totally the exception, 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 believes women need to stop judging one another's parenting journeys, too. When talking about the new-age breast versus bottle battle, she expressed the need for moms to do what is best for their unique family.
“Guess what, whatever it is, it’s OK,” she said. “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?”
Regardless of what the world makes her out to be, Gwyneth Paltrow is actually pretty down to earth. And not only that, she's committed to helping people. No, her Goop products aren't for everyone. But she has introduced us to plenty of incredible self-help trends, many of which actually work.
That's why so many people were drawn to her Netflix show The Goop Lab, where each episode explored different kinds of alternative therapies. Now she has a new show, Sex, Love & Goop, which explores sexual healing with real-life couples. While Gwyneth doesn't claim to be an expert on anything, she's definitely somewhat of a researcher, and while she may not know everything, we're pretty sure she knows good sex.
