15 Celebrity Parents Who’ve Opened Up About Their NICU Experiences

Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas welcomed their first child in January 2022. Daughter Malti, born at 27 weeks, spent 100 days in the NICU. Reflecting on the experience, Priyanka wrote on Instagram in May, “Every family’s journey is unique and requires a certain level of faith, and while ours was a challenging few months, what becomes abundantly clear, in retrospect, is how precious and perfect every moment is. We are overjoyed that our little girl is finally home, and just want to thank every doctor, nurse, and specialist at Rady Children’s La Jolla and Cedars-Sinai Los Angeles, who were there selflessly every step of the way. Our next chapter begins now, and our baby is truly a badass.”

Nick and Vanessa Lachey’s third child, their son Phoenix, was born at only 29 weeks of gestation and spent more than six weeks in the NICU. Chatting with People in 2017, Nick described the experience as often overwhelming. “It’s scary — there’s beeps and alarms and this and that and tubes … it’s a hard thing. There’s just no two ways about it. But we leaned on each other and got through it with great friends and family around us, and in the end everything was perfectly fine.”

Jill Duggar recently shared a tender photo from her son Freddy’s time in the NICU and gave kudos to one of the places that provided her family with much-needed support. “We had a little bit of a NICU stay because he was born a little early and needed some extra adjustment time … shout-out to the #ronaldmcdonaldhousecharities for all they do to support families!! Thank you!”

Jack, the son shared by Anna Faris and ex-husband Chris Pratt, was born nine weeks early and weighed less than 4 lbs. at birth. Since his birth and time in the NICU — a period that Anna described in her memoir, Unqualified, as “emotionally exhausting” — Anna has been a vocal supporter of organizations that support premature babies.

Zoe Saldaña did double NICU duty when her twin sons, Cy and Bowie, spent time there in 2014. She shared her gratitude that her boys had excellent medical care. “My husband and I were at the mercy of our nurses and doctors. Our children’s lives depended on their every move,” she said of the experience.

Boy Meets World star Danielle Fishel and husband Jensen Karp’s son Adler spent three weeks in the NICU as a result of a rare medical condition called chylothorax, which affected his lungs. The actress shared on Instagram her joy when Adler was finally well enough to go home.

“Adler is 3 weeks old today and officially a NICU graduate! Thank you to everyone at @childrensla and especially our primary nurses @cassiejosharrod and @quyenlyyy. We never wanted to know this hospital and its staff so well but now that we do, we can say with certainty there is no better place for children with medical needs. Now we hope to never be back. 🙂 Finally, our love and hugs to every single parent who has ever spent time in the NICU, and especially those we left behind today.”

Country music artists Chris and Morgane Stapleton’s twin boys, Macon and Samuel, arrived more than a month ahead of schedule, but thankfully they only had to spend a short time in the NICU. After their birth, which was announced during an awards show by none other than country legend Reba McEntire, Morgane posted a rare picture of her babies on Instagram.

“We’re so grateful to finally be home with our sweet family,” she wrote. “We would like to say a special thank you to all the incredible nurses and doctors at Centennial Women’s & Children’s Hospital in Nashville. At more than a month early, we had a weeklong stay in the NICU, and the incredible people there kept our boys healthy and happy. Words cannot express our gratitude for you all and what you did for our family.”

Although Beyoncé and Jay-Z have largely kept their twins, Rumi and Sir, out of the public eye, Beyoncé has shared some details about their early days in the NICU. In her essay for Vogue, she recounted the experience, which began with her suffering toxemia and being put on bed rest.

“My health and my babies’ health were in danger, so I had an emergency C-section. We spent many weeks in the NICU,” she wrote. “My husband was a soldier and such a strong support system for me. I am proud to have been a witness to his strength and evolution as a man, a best friend, and a father. I was in survival mode and did not grasp it all until months later. Today, I have a connection to any parent who has been through such an experience.”

In 2007, Dennis Quaid and his then-wife Kimberly welcomed healthy twins, Thomas and Zoe. The babies developed an infection shortly after birth and returned to the hospital for treatment. It was there that a medical mistake sent the babies to the NICU. Dennis told Oprah Winfrey that Thomas and Zoe were given
a thousand times the dose of Heparin that they were meant to get. “They were supposed to get 10 units, and they got 10,000 units of Heparin — twice. That’s when their blood turned to the consistency of water,” he explained. Thankfully the twins recovered, and Dennis spent the next few years raising awareness of the risks of misdosing medicine in hospital settings.

Reality TV star Bethenny Frankel’s daughter, Bryn Hoppy, is now a healthy and happy seventh grader. But she got her start as an early arrival baby, clocking in at less than 5 lbs. Bethenny told People that Bryn spent several days in the NICU. “[We were] in this dark little room with our baby. It was almost like Survivor, where we were fending for ourselves. We couldn’t stop staring at her.”

Tim McGraw and Faith Hill’s youngest daughter, Audrey, is all grown-up now and seems to have her parents’ gift for music. In an Instagram post to celebrate her birthday, proud papa Tim reflected on her challenging start as a baby. “About this day 18 years ago, this little angel came to us 7 1/2 weeks early. Faith and I did a lot of praying and stayed all day every day for 2 1/2 weeks in the NICU at Baptist Hospital with such incredible nurses. And now she is beautiful, vibrant, and the most remarkable young woman who lights up the life of everyone she knows. Her mother and I couldn’t be more proud of her and her sisters.”

Céline Dion’s twin sons were born premature (as many twins are) and spent several days getting extra attention in the NICU. That experience led Céline to volunteer to help raise awareness about the dangers of premature birth with the March of Dimes, including filming fundraising videos in both English and French.

Talk show host Sherri Shepherd’s son Jeffrey is a teenager now now, but he started his life weighing less than 2 lbs., and would go on to spend more than four months in the NICU. Sherri shared a bit about the experience in a 2019 Instagram post. “Born prematurely at 25 weeks weighing 1 lb., 10 oz., despite all the negative prognosis, my son fought to live. Doctors said Jeffrey would be paralyzed, unable to speak, and have a host of mental challenges. But God said different. Fourteen years later, Jeffrey still can bring me to tears at what he can do. I still have no clue what I am doing and how to raise this boy, but I know I love him with all my heart.”

Gordon Ramsay might seem like a tough guy in the kitchen, but off-camera he is a devoted dad to the five kids he shares with wife, Tana. The couple experienced NICU life with their twins in 2000. During the early days of the pandemic, Tana shared her sympathy for all the parents experiencing that struggle while having limited access to their babies. “This picture is the very first time I held all three of my babies back in 2000. Jack and Holly had just been moved from intensive care into the special care unit, and it was such an emotional moment. It makes my heart ache for those of you who can’t have access because of the pandemic we are all in.”

Love & Hip Hop star Alexis Skyy is mother to a tiny NICU fighter named Alaiya, who was born almost three months early and suffered some significant complications. At the time, she shared with her fans, “It’s scary — she’s so tiny. She’s not fully grown. I wasn’t even at the 30-week mark yet. I was only 24 weeks. Just got to be positive.”