Celebrities
Meghan Trainor suffered PTSD after birthing her son
In her new book, the pop singer discussed the struggles she faced after childbirth.
Meghan Trainor’s new book, ‘Dear Future Mama: A TMI Guide to Pregnancy, Birth, and Motherhood From Your Bestie’ provides a candid look at the 29-year-old’s experiences with body image, pregnancy, and birth.
The pop singer opened up about the birth of her son, Riley, and how the traumatic birthing process led her to be diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
The complicated birth
In 2021, Trainor gave birth to Riley via cesarean section, whom she welcomed with her husband, ‘Spy Kids’ actor Daryl Sabara. Riley had difficulties breathing and was rushed to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) where he stayed for several days.
After bringing her son home, Trainor began experiencing nightmares and flashbacks to the C-section.
“I couldn’t go to sleep at night,” she said. “I would be in tears and tell Daryl, ‘I’m still on that table, dude. I’m trapped there. I can’t remind myself I’m in bed and I’m safe at home.
“I had to learn how traumatic it was.”
The ‘Mother’ singer sought help from her therapist who told her: “So, you know how you cry every night when you go to bed and you feel the pain, even though there’s no pain left, and it comes back to you?
“It’s chemical reactions in your brain. Something’s off, and we have to open that up and heal that wound.”
Trainor went on to express that therapy was a great tool in dealing with her struggles.
“I just worked through it,” she said. “Time heals all.”
Trainor on her body image
Though achieving her weight loss goals following Riley’s birth, Trainor is currently pregnant with her second child and stated that she had to “rewire her brain” to develop a healthy body image.
“That was really emotionally crippling, trying to go from like, ‘Oh, I’m down to my healthiest I’ve ever been, but I know I’m about to grow big again,’” Trainor explained. “And I had to keep reminding myself, ‘It’s healthy for the baby. And I’ve done it once. I could do it again.’
“But it was eye-opening to watch and feel myself go through little mini freakouts of, ‘That’s not fair. I’m going to have to stretch again. What if I get new stretch marks over these stretch?’ The cycle just still lives in my brain,” she continued.
“And my therapist is so great at showing me a visual of, ‘Your brain was wired this way your whole life. And at 29, you have to learn how to rewire it, which is not an easy task. So it’s something you’re working on every day.’ And I’m like oh, that’s right.”
‘Dear Future Mama: A TMI Guide to Pregnancy, Birth, and Motherhood From Your Bestie’ releases on April 25.