Hilary Duff explains why she wanted her young son to watch her give birth
Callum Jones
Featured Image Credit: John Nacion / NurPhoto / Shutterstock / @hilaryduff/Instagram
For a lot of mums, giving birth is a situation where the father and the midwife are the only ones present for the miraculous moment.
However, that is certainly not the case for Hilary Duff as she wanted her young son to also be there to watch her give birth.
The 35-year-old is now a mother of three, welcoming her first child - son Luca Cruz, 11 - in 2012 with ex-husband Mike Comrie.
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With current partner Matthew Koma, Duff has welcomed two daughters - Banks Violet, 4, and Mae James, 2.
Duff welcomed both of her daughters at home and has been a vocal advocate for home-births in recent years.
While there are certainly risks to having a home-birth compared to the safe and sound place of the hospital, Duff has said that having her family present during such a monumental moment in her life outweighed the risks.
After a fairly smooth experience with her first born, Duff felt that she didn't need medical intervention right on hand for her second child, so she made the decision to give birth at home.
Speaking on on The Kelly Clarkson Show in 2022, Duff said: "You're bringing a baby into the world, that's some of the hardest work anybody can do.
"And they don't let you have water in the hospital, or food or snacks and you're about to work the hardest you've ever worked to push a baby out."
The birth seemed to be a pretty chilled one actually, as Duff snacked on sushi and kept a glass of rosé next to her to celebrate the new arrival once she had come.
"It's kind of the most hippie dippy thing about me, to have my kids around while I'm birthing," the Material Girls actor said. "At first I thought it was really weird - but it was beautiful to bring another member in with everyone around."
Alongside the sushi and the rosé was Duff's son, Luca, who was present during her home births.
Speaking of that decision, Duff said on the Informed Pregnancy Podcast: "It was kind of important for me because I'm really big on being open and honest with him about how strong women are and what childbirth looks like.
"He knows all about periods and it's important for me to normalise that conversation with him for all the women that are going to be in his life.
"[My son knows] all about periods and it's important for me to normalize that conversation with him for all the women that are going to be in his life."