Me Becoming Mom

Designer, podcaster and former star of MTV’s “The Hills” Whitney Port has been open about suffering multiple pregnancy losses, and on the season finale of Me Becoming Mom, she sits down with host Zoë Ruderman to give an emotional update on where she is on her journey to have another child. The mother-of-one gets real about every step of the process and explains how she’s coping along with her husband Timmy and 4-year-old son. There’s no topic off-limits in this episode that covers everything from miscarriage to marriage to mom guilt. We also hear Sonny’s sweet birth story – from the surprise of finding out “It’s a boy!” to having 15 loved ones in the hospital waiting room to share in the joy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hemorrhoids. Vaginal tears. Bloody nipples. Adult diapers. It’s all a totally normal part of giving birth. Actress and model Brooklyn Decker is happy to talk about it all as she sits down with host Zoë Ruderman to discuss her unique road to motherhood and everything she encountered – good and bad – along the way. The "Grace and Frankie" star also reveals (in amazing detail) what her recovery was like and admits that she made her close friend examine her “down there” after childbirth so she could get an honest report. The mother of two also tells us about the homemade care packages that she started sending new moms which led her to invest in Bodily, a company making all-in-one postpartum kits. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

TV personality, columnist and "Bad Republican" author Meghan McCain has made a career out of sharing her thoughts. Though usually political, she gets incredibly personal about her own life with host Zoë Ruderman on this episode of Me Becoming Mom, describing her "much rockier, much more complicated" road to motherhood in detail. The former "View" co-host opens up about the trauma of suffering a miscarriage in the public eye, being pregnant during the pandemic, enduring a long labor that resulted in an emergency c-section and postpartum preeclampsia that left her in the hospital for a week after giving birth to her daughter Liberty. Despite going through one of the darkest times in her life, Meghan reveals how she's healed both physically and emotionally, how her baby has made her feel more connected to her family including her late father Senator John McCain and the perspective she's gained in her new role as a parent. Then, we hear from listeners about the advice they would give their pre-pregnancy selves knowing everything they know now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Actress Jamie-Lynn Sigler always wanted to be a mom. But a multiple sclerosis diagnosis left her wondering whether she could manage parenting along with a chronic illness. The mother of two tells host Zoë Ruderman how MS affected her pregnancies and taught her how to surrender and accept what she couldn’t control. In fact, her first-born son Beau inspired her to publicly reveal the disease she had been hiding for years. The 'Sopranos' alum also opens up about her unique delivery room experiences that were more like a "party," surrounded by best friends and complete with music. We then unpack the ultimate birthing playlist, designed to help alleviate the difficulties of labor. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Olympic sprinter Allyson Felix was prepared to have a low-intervention childbirth when, at 32 weeks, she was diagnosed with severe preeclampsia. The 7-time gold medalist was rushed to the hospital, where she experienced what she calls “the scariest two days of my life” culminating in an emergency c-section. Felix takes host Zoë Ruderman through her journey, including why she hid her pregnancy from her sponsor and continued to compete while pregnant, how her brother wondered if he was coming to see his niece be born or his sister pass away, what it was like to be separated from daughter Camryn immediately after surgery and their harrowing two-month NICU stay which also meant they’d spend Christmas in the hospital. The athlete also talks about her new partnership with Anthem to help spread the message of how our environment and circumstances impact our health. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“Top Chef” host, writer and activist Padma Lakshmi spent most of her adult life trying not to get pregnant. But then she was diagnosed with severe endometriosis that, according to her doctor, would make it nearly impossible for her to have a baby naturally. Years later, and much to Padma’s surprise, she became pregnant with her daughter Krishna. But Padma’s pregnancy was far from easy. She had placenta previa, a serious condition that led to her being on bedrest for the entire third trimester, and she was forced to deal with international attention about who the father was. On this episode of Me Becoming Mom, Padma opens up to host Zoë Ruderman about it all — and of course we talk pregnancy cravings! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 2018, Sen. Tammy Duckworth became the first senator to give birth while in office. She has become one of the most prominent voices for moms on Capitol Hill, shining a spotlight on issues like paid leave after pregnancy loss and childbirth issues facing mothers who are veterans. After losing both her legs in the Iraq War, Sen. Duckworth’s plan to start a family was delayed by her extensive recovery. In this episode of Me Becoming Mom, the mother of two shares with host Zoë Ruderman her experience of becoming a mom late in life, IVF that required four years of four shots a day, working through her own pregnancy loss, and why she believes it’s “inhumane” to not give women time off after a miscarriage. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Like many women, fitness expert and Instagram star Emily Skye had a detailed birth plan going into her second delivery. But not all births go according to plan. On this episode of Me Becoming Mom, Skye describes (in amazing detail) to host Zoë Ruderman what it was like to unexpectedly give birth to her son Izaac at home, with no doctor, on a playmat, with her older daughter Mia climbing on her. The influencer also shares how her relationship with her body changed after childbirth and explains that she’s thankful for her “saggy tummy.” Then, we speak to midwives Sarah McClure and Charli Zarosinski about planned home births and how that experience differs from a hospital delivery. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Within 72 hours, fitness expert and TV star Jillian Michaels became a mom twice over. While her then-partner was delivering their son Phoenix, she received the call that it was finally time to pick up her daughter Lukensia from an orphanage in Haiti. In this episode, Michaels tells host Zoë Ruderman about her years-long wait to adopt and how the gift of U.S. citizenship factored into her decision to adopt internationally. She also describes the pain of visiting then having to say goodbye to her daughter in Haiti multiple times before getting to take her home, why her daughter smacked her in the face when she finally came to pick her up, and why she didn’t come out publicly until after her adoption process was complete. Then, we speak to Rhonda Roorda, an expert on trans-racial adoption and ‘This Is Us’ consultant. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Talk show host and journalist Tamron Hall gave birth at 48 years old, after years of struggling. She sits down with host Zoë Ruderman to share her long, expensive, and sometimes painful IVF journey, one that was filled with many injections by many loved ones in many strange places (airplanes! Ubers! hotels!). Tamron tells us why she named her son Moses (and not Bob), why she cried at first when she found out she was having a boy, and why she kept her pregnancy private for 32 weeks. Then we hear from real moms on what NOT to say to a friend going through fertility struggles. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Actress, activist and "Sorry Not Sorry" author Alyssa Milano sits down with host Zoë Ruderman to share her winding road to motherhood, including abortions in her 20s and multiple miscarriages. The mom of two also opens up about how surviving sexual abuse impacted her pregnancies and her experience of labor and delivery. The "Who's the Boss" and "Charmed" star reveals how her "vaginal birth or bust" plans didn't go quite as expected, why she's learned to love her C-section scar, and the reason her daughter shares a birthday with Beyoncé. Then, we speak to OB/GYN Dr. Danielle Jones (also known as Mama Doctor Jones) for real talk on having a baby after an abortion, sexual abuse and pregnancy loss. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Olympic gold medalist Shawn Johnson East was used to her body doing exactly what she needed it to do. So her road to motherhood—one that included an unexpected pregnancy and a miscarriage—made her feel vulnerable in a totally new way. The mother of two opened up to host Zoë Ruderman about grappling with those emotions, how abusing her body as an elite gymnast caused pregnancy loss guilt, and the impact of her history of disordered eating. She also reveals the heartwarming reason she didn’t find out the sex of her first child. Then, we hear from Dr. Linda Shanti, an expert on the intersection of eating disorders, body image and pregnancy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"Real Housewives of Atlanta" star and singer Kandi Burruss has become a mom in four unique ways. And on this episode of Me Becoming Mom, she gets characteristically candid and tells all. Kandi shares her story of going through IVF to have son Ace, and then making the "tough decision" to use a surrogate for her daughter Blaze. The Bravo personality also talks about the worst stigmas around surrogacy including the painful comment a friend made, what it was like to lose one of her twin embryos, and the advice she got from Andy Cohen about surrogacy that still makes her laugh. Then, we sit down with Kandi's surrogate Shadina Blunt about what it's like to be on the other side of surrogacy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today Show anchor Hoda Kotb joins host Zoë Ruderman to share everything about her road to motherhood and adopting two baby girls on the emotional premiere episode of PEOPLE's "Me Becoming Mom." Hoda talks about the cancer treatments that left her unable to conceive, a divorce that blindsided her and the revelation she had walking down the street that she was meant to be a mom. She opens up about how terrified she was to tell her relatively new boyfriend she wanted to adopt—and how she was willing to walk away from the relationship if he didn’t share her dream. Then, five things you need to know if you’re considering adoption. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re sitting down with famous women to hear all about their journeys to motherhood. PEOPLE editor Zoë Ruderman talks to celebs about everything from trying to conceive for years to surprise pregnancies, IVF to surrogacy, adoption to unexpected home births. Nothing is off limits in these emotional, candid, sometimes heartbreaking but always heartwarming interviews. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices