Model Chrissy Teigen and her husband, singer John Legend, have lost their baby boy late in pregnancy, sharing the news in an emotional series of social media posts.
Last month, Teigen shared that she had been placed on bed rest due to problems with her placenta. Shortly after, she was admitted to the hospital due to bleeding, but their son — whom they named Jack — seemed to be healthy and thriving. “So I feel really good, the baby’s so healthy. Growing stronger than Luna or Miles. He moves a lot, so much earlier than they ever did,” she said on social media. “He’s so strong and I’m just so excited for him because he’s so wonderful and just the strongest little dude. I can’t wait for him.”
Just under one month ago, Teigen posted video of her receiving an ultrasound on her Instagram page, shown above.
Tragically, despite the best efforts of doctors to save him, Jack passed away. Teigen shared the news in a heart-wrenching post on Instagram, accompanied by black and white photos from the hospital. “We are shocked and in the kind of deep pain you only hear about, the kind of pain we’ve never felt before,” she wrote. “We were never able to stop the bleeding and give our baby the fluids he needed, despite bags and bags of blood transfusions. It just wasn’t enough.”
Teigen further explained that typically, they don’t name their children until they’ve left the hospital. But in this case, they had a feeling that their son’s name was Jack. “So he will always be Jack to us,” she said. “Jack worked so hard to be a part of our little family, and he will be, forever.”
“To our Jack – I’m so sorry that the first few moments of your life were met with so many complications, that we couldn’t give you the home you needed to survive. We will always love you,” she continued, adding, “We are so grateful for the life we have, for our wonderful babies Luna and Miles, for all the amazing things we’ve been able to experience. But everyday can’t be full of sunshine. On this darkest of days, we will grieve, we will cry our eyes out. But we will hug and love each other harder and get through it.”
READ: Humanity of preborn children a common theme in stories of pregnancy loss
Their photos show Teigen with tears streaming down her face in the hospital, seemingly receiving an epidural, and clutching hands with Legend. The last photo showed Teigen cradling Jack, while Legend leaned close, grief evident on her face. She also spoke about her heartache on Twitter, writing about how surreal it felt to leave the hospital without Jack.
Driving home from the hospital with no baby. How can this be real.
— chrissy teigen (@chrissyteigen) October 1, 2020
Celebrities quickly made sure to support the couple with well-wishes and prayers. Some have criticized Teigen and Legend for being so public about their loss, but other women have stated how much Teigen’s openness has meant to them. “We share because they lived and it’s the only way to remember,” one mother said in response to Teigen’s detractors. “We say their names. We love them and carry them in our hearts.”
“As a woman who lost a baby at 27 weeks, I completely agree,” one woman tweeted. “This happens a lot and often in silence, cause no one knows what to do or say. My thoughts are with John and Chrissy. Thank you for sharing your grief and helping others.”
“To those who think [Chrissy Teigen] shouldn’t post about her miscarriage: she is normalizing what is kept in secret by women who believe they’re somehow responsible for such a tragedy,” another woman said. “Thank you, Chrissy. My first of four was 32 years ago. It still hurts.”
According to the CDC, 1 in 100 pregnancies will end in stillbirth, while 1 in 10 babies are born prematurely. Teigen’s and Legend’s loss is heartbreaking, but it’s far from rare. Too many families go through similar pain in silence, when the lives of these children deserve to be honored and remembered.
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