In an Instagram post on Monday, Kehlani announced that she gave birth to her first baby girl, named Adela, over the weekend. The singer also shared details about the birthing process, specifically that she gave birth at home, inside the bathroom, and without medication. Javie Young-White, the father of Kehlani’s child, added on Twitter that she gave birth "standing up."
"Unmedicated home birth was the absolute hardest yet most powerful thing I’ve ever done," Kehlani wrote on Instagram on Monday. "Thankful beyond words. In love beyond comparison."
While unmedicated home births are increasingly popular, especially among public figures and celebrities (including Hilary Duff and Bekah Martinez), they are considered controversial. Today Kehlani tweeted in response to the initial announcement that suggests some people took offence to her post.
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"All birth is extremely hard and transformative," Kehlani wrote on Twitter. "Homebirth is a medical decision as is hospital birth." She reiterated that all types of birthing experiences are powerful. "Using my experience to shame another’s isn’t what I want, power to anyone who brings life forth, it’s a next level journey whichever way."
all birth is extremely hard and transformative. homebirth is a medical decision as is hospital birth, all birth is mind blowing & powerful. using my experience to shame another’s isnt what i want, power to anyone who brings life forth, it’s a next level journey whichever way?
— Kehlani (@Kehlani) March 26, 2019
In the American Congress on Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG)’s stance on home birth, the organisation says that hospitals and accrediting birth centres are still the safest settings for birth. The organisation also urges people who have planned home births to be informed about the very real risks (including a more than twofold increased risk of perinatal death) ahead of time. People who choose to have home births should have a certified nurse midwife present and be able to travel to a hospital nearby in case of emergency, per the ACOG guidelines. In general, the organisation believes that the risks don’t outweigh the purported benefits.
That said, the ACOG says, "each woman has the right to make a medically informed decision about delivery.” Indeed, Kehlani’s choice to have a home birth was all her own — and luckily, she had a positive experience and seems to be recovering just fine. To put this in simpler words, what Kehlani chose to do with her own pregnancy and childbirth, "ain’t nunya business."
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