Sofia Richie is opening up about the scary part of her pregnancy that ‘terrified’ her – and why she had to be put on bed rest.
Richie, 26, and her husband, Elliot Grainge, 30, welcomed her first born, daughter Eloise Samantha Grainge, in May, but largely kept most of her pregnancy experience private.
Now, she is sharing more about some of the struggles she went through in a new podcast, She MD, which is hosted by her own OBGYN, Dr. Thais Aliabadi and women’s advocate Mary Alice Haney.
Richie prefaced the episode by explaining that she was excited to be a guest on the podcast, as she felt like people don’t always talk about the complications that can go on during pregnancy and even afterwards.
The Solid & Striped designer explained that during her pregnancy everything seemed to be going well until she reached 32 weeks, which is when things took a bit of a turn.
Sofia Richie-Grainge, 26, is opening up about a scary part of her pregnancy that ‘terrified’ her – and why she had to be put on bed rest
Richie-Grainge and her husband, Elliott, welcomed their first born in May 2024, a daughter named Eloise Samantha Grainge
She recalled waking up and feeling really tired and cramp-y, with back pains.
Richie said she didn’t think much of it and thought it was a normal part of pregnancy, but decided to check in with her doctor anyway, who she admitted she was always texting – and thankfully, that was definitely the right choice.
‘She was like, “You know what? Actually, I think you should go see the fetal specialist to monitor, to make sure that everything’s okay, and then you’ll go home. It’s not a big deal,”‘ the fashion maven said.
‘Thank God she said that, because they hooked me up to the monitor and they were like, “You’re in active labor,” at 32 weeks,’ she revealed.
She was then sent to Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles for extra monitoring and IV fluids.
‘So, what was meant to be a few hours actually ended up being a six-night stay,’ Richie shared.
Her OBYGYN, Dr. Aliabadi, explained that going into early labor can be caused by a number of different factors, like stress, infection, trauma.
Sometimes, however, it just happens randomly, without a cause.
“Thank God she said that, because they hooked me up to the monitor and they were like, “You’re in active labor,” at 32 weeks,’ Richie revealed
‘I was really terrified,’ the David Yurman ambassador admitted, but explained that Dr. Aliabadi was super comforting and reassuring during this time
Dr. Aliabadi shared that if a patient goes into labor early, they will try their best to stop it, which is what Richie was able to do.
‘I was really terrified,’ the David Yurman ambassador admitted, but explained that Dr. Aliabadi was super comforting and reassuring during this difficult time.
After a six-day stay, Richie was able to go home and put on bed rest, where she was still contracting, but being monitored.
‘It was kind of a waiting game from there,’ Richie shared, explaining that her doctor wanted her to just take things ‘week by week.’
Richie was able to make it full-term to 38 weeks, and said her delivery went smoothly.
‘She’s amazing, this girl does not complain, by the way,’ Dr. Aliabadi said about Richie.
‘What she went through it was really traumatic, six weeks she was having contractions… it was a long six weeks for you, I think.’
Richie admitted that her experience was ’emotional,’ but she was happy when it was all over and most importantly, that her daughter was healthy.
Richie admitted that her experience was ’emotional,’ but she was happy when it was all over and most importantly, that her daughter was healthy
The model said that when she came home from the hospital after a two-day stay, she ‘blew up like a balloon’
‘It was intense, I gave birth and I was like, wow, “I really did that,”‘ Richie described.
‘I did six weeks or however many weeks of contractions, and I have my beautiful daughter, I’m healthy, I’m safe, she’s healthy, she’s safe.’
However, unfortunately for Richie, the complications didn’t end there.
The model said that when she came home from the hospital after a two-day stay, she ‘blew up like a balloon.’
‘Then, I went home, and I blew up like a balloon, quite literally just swelled,’ she revealed, explaining that she really was not feeling well.
Richie again texted her doctor, who she says was ‘on top if it,’ and sent over her nurse.
After some tests, Richie found out that her blood pressure was 165/103, which falls into the range of postpartum preeclampsia, which is a serious blood pressure condition.
Some of the symptoms include headaches, swelling, and vision problems, per Yale Medicine.
Thankfully, Richie and her daughter Eloise are now healthy, and she seems to be enjoying every aspect of motherhood
The influencer ended up having to go back to the hospital to get herself taken care of, but admitted that leaving her newborn daughter was really difficult.
Dr. Aliabadi explained that while preeclampsia can happen after 20 weeks, it can also happen for up to six weeks postpartum.
‘It can put you at risk for seizures, so it’s a very, very dangerous condition if you completely ignore it, you can have strokes from it,’ the doctor said.
Thankfully, Richie and her daughter Eloise are now healthy, and she seems to be enjoying every aspect of motherhood.
She revealed in an August interview with The Wall Street Journal just how much becoming a parent has changed her.
‘I’m a very scheduled, organized person. I’m very type A, clean and organized,’ she told the outlet at the time.
‘But I’ve also learned that I don’t have to be that way, because when you have a baby, all of that kind of goes out the window. I’ve learned that I’m more flexible than I think.’