It’s always so helpful when celebrities speak out about their own pregnancy struggles. Sometimes it can feel so lonely to be carrying a child, and knowing we’re not alone is so comforting. One topic that several stars have been open about is gestational diabetes. It’s a condition that only occurs during pregnancy and usually clears up after the baby is born.
According to Healthline, gestational diabetes occurs when pregnant women suddenly develop high blood sugar levels. It’s usually a result of changing hormone levels and can effect 2% to 10% of pregnancies in the U.S. It can be a concern for baby’s health, but it’s also relatively easy to manage if mama is careful. Per the Mayo Clinic, eating healthy foods and exercising often enough helps keep both mother and baby healthy, but medicines are also available.
Us Weekly recently rounded up a list of celebs who’ve struggled with this very condition. Keep reading to see who’s opened up about it.
Meghan Trainor
The singer is pregnant with a little boy, due early next year, but her pregnancy hasn’t been without struggles. “Got a little little tiny bump in the road โ I got diagnosed with gestational diabetes, but it’s manageable and it’s OK and I’m healthy and the baby’s healthy,” Meghhan said on the Today show. “I just have to really pay attention to everything I eat. It’s nice to learn so much about food and health and nice to hear that so many women experienced this.”
She’s definitely far from the only celeb to deal with this.
Mariah Carey
When she was pregnant with her now 9-year-old twins, Mariah Carey had a hard nine months. “I did develop gestational diabetes,” she revealed in 2011, according to Today. “I’m good with that now, I’m OK, but you just have to be careful, nutritionally.” Things cleared up once she’d given birth to Moroccan and Monroe.
The singer didn't want more kids after that
Mariah struggled for several reasons during her pregnancy, including with gestational diabetes, and it all made her decide she didn’t want any more kids. Today reported that she said, “I really don’t know if I can make it through after what I went through, it was really tough.” She added, “I was in a lot of pain because of the fact that they’re twins. I had a rough one. I just want people to be prepared that it can happen where you go through a rough time when you’re pregnant.”
Always keeping it real.
Angelina Jolie
Like Mariah, Angelina Jolie also reportedly had gestational diabetes while pregnant with her twins. She never confirmed the rumors herself, but sources claimed she’d experienced sickness, irritability, and weakness after the alleged diagnosis. To help her manage, she was reportedly seeing a nutritionist.
Trista Sutter
The former Bachelorette told the RD Lounge that she wanted to share her experience so people would see how common it is. “It’s important to realize that anyone can get gestational diabetes,” she said. Still, the news came as a bit of a shock to her. “I still went into my pregnancy hoping everything would be perfect, and that all would go well. When I completed the glucose tolerance test, I was definitely shocked, even though I have diabetes in my family. I should have thought to myself that it could happen, but I really didnโt think about it,” she said.
Her kids are now 13 and 11
Trista’s experience with gestational diabetes is a distant memory, because her kids are in or nearing their teens now. Her son Maxwell is 13, and her daughter Blakesley is 11. “Theyโre still the source of my greatest joy,” the former Bachelorette captioned a recent selfie with her children.
Salma Hayek
When pregnant with her daughter, Valentina, actress Salma Hayek found out she had gestational diabetes. “I didn’t know whether I was feeling bad because I was pregnant or whether something was seriously wrong,” she said about the time before she’d been diagnosed. “I was nauseated for nine months, which can be one of the symptoms.”
Amber Portwood
While pregnant with her second child, Teen Mom OG star Amber Portwood told Us Weekly that she’d been diagnosed with gestational diabetes. “It’s been a big issue, you know, it doesn’t make you feel the greatest,” she admitted. “I canโt really go anywhere. I have to stay here to be close to my doctor.”
Fortunately everything ended up alright and she gave birth to a healthy baby boy.
She gave up some foods to manage
During her pregnancy, Amber told Us Weekly that she managed her diagnosis by watching what she ate. “My diet has been mostly vegetables, a little bit of fruit, a lot of meat, and some protein,” she said, adding, “I don’t eat sugar or a lot of bread, and if I do eat bread, it’s whole grain. I don’t drink any pop. Just water and milk.”
Danielle Lloyd
The British model was reportedly diagnosed with gestational diabetes during her fourth pregnancy. A source told The Sun, “She’s been told by her doctor that she’s got to rest. Last night she wanted to make sure she could do her work commitments, but her condition has left her feeling terrible and she’s laid up in bed.”
She eventually gave birth to a healthy baby boy.
Mariska Hargitay
The actress told People in 2007 that her first pregnancy had been tough, especially after she got gestational diabetes. “This pregnancy was really hard for me at the end,” she said. “I wasn’t mobile.” Even after her struggles, though, she’d mentioned wanting to have more children. “Next time, I want to keep myself as strong as possible, so everything will go easier for me,” she’d said.
However, her other children are adopted
Mariska did bring two more children into her family after her first pregnancy, but both were adopted. “I know that families can be built in all sorts of different ways โ that there isnโt just one way to create a family, and that it isn’t just about biology,” she said of why she adopted. “The easiest answer is we just wanted a bigger family and we feel incredibly blessed.”
Halle Berry
According to Today, Halle was in her 20s when first diagnosed with diabetes, which meant that she had to handle the condition during her two pregnancies. Although that must have been tough, she stayed healthy and now has two beautiful children:ย Nahla and Maceo.
She says diabetes helps her as a parent
Halle has tried to find the good among the struggle, especially with her diabetes. She told Marie Claire that her own condition has helped her be more mindful of what her children eat. “I use Xylitol as a sugar substitute and give it to my daughter,” she said in 2013. “It’s rough, though, because she’s at a friend’s birthday party every other month, and there are all these wonderful birthday cakes, so I donโt deprive her from that. I strongly believe in talking about nutrition at an early age and setting a good example.”
Statistically, even more celebs have probably experienced it
Although not that many celebrities have spoken up about their diagnosis, this is something that affects a lot of pregnant women. According to the CDC, in the U.S. alone, 2% to 10% of pregnancies are affected by gestational diabetes. So, statistically speaking, plenty more celebrities have probably dealt with it, just in silence.
Hopefully as more people speak up, others will join them. There’s nothing to be ashamed of here, and the more people that talk about it, the more normalized it will become.
