Celebrity

WNBA’s Skylar Diggins-Smith Played Pregnant All Season

Posted on October 21, 2019

Another professional female athlete who recently had a baby is speaking out about maternity leave treatment they received from the sports industry.

This time, Women’s National Basketball Association star of the Dallas Wings team, Skylar Diggins-Smith revealed Saturday that she played an entire season while pregnant but was called a “quitter” for taking two months off to cope with postpartum depression after giving birth to her son.

Diggins-Smith, 29, said she played while pregnant throughout the entire five-month 2018 season and “didn’t tell a soul” adding that she was the leading player in the league and averaged 17.9 points and 6.2 assists. She also earned her fourth All-Star slot.

I played the ENTIRE season pregnant last year! All star, and led league (top 3-5) in MPG….didn’t tell a soul.
— Skylar Diggins-Smith (@SkyDigg4) October 19, 2019

But Diggins-Smith said when she took two months off early this season to spend time with her newborn son and handle postpartum depression, she was slammed as a “quitter” who was giving up on her team.

People called me a quitter, said I gave up on my team, etc., etc.
Not knowing I took two FULL months away from everything because of postpartum depression. With limited resources to help me be successful mentally/physically.
But just wait though….KEEP THAT SAME ENERGY.
— Skylar Diggins-Smith (@SkyDigg4) October 19, 2019

Diggins-Smith first announced her pregnancy close to two months following the end of the Wings’ ended its 2018 season back in August.

View this post on Instagram
Can’t wait to meet you!.. ❤️
A post shared by skydigg4 (@skydigg4) on Oct 17, 2018 at 1:49pm PDT

HuffPo reports that even though she was scheduled to play in the 2019 season, she never did and it looks like her PPD has some reason to do with it.

Having no support from your own organization is unfortunate
— Skylar Diggins-Smith (@SkyDigg4) October 18, 2019

“Under the WNBA collective bargaining agreement, players who become pregnant under contract are to receive half their salary, and their medical expenses are to be covered by insurance, ” according to Yahoo Sports.

It’s unclear if she will return. Diggins-Smith is the latest of several female athletes to speak up. Earlier, marathoner Alysia Montano complained Nike lessened her pay while on maternity leave, then Allyson Felix co-signed and

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Celebrity

3 Years After Giving Birth, ‘The Walking Dead’s’ Alanna Masterson’s Still Fighting Body Shamers

Posted on April 9, 2018

The Walking Dead‘s Alanna Masterson has had to fight off body shaming trolls before when viewers mocked her pregnancy weight gain back in 2015 when she was expecting her first child.

We’re going on two years later and she is still fending off haters. The briefly left Instagram last Spring when she gave up battling with those who thought she was gaining weight. Producers hid her then-growing baby bump with chairs, props and her character, Tara, went on a serious long “supply run” and as missing for most of the final part of the sixth series and the beginning of the seventh season during her maternity leave.

Masterson and her now 2-year old daughter Marlowe who she welcomed with her boyfriend Brick Stowell back in November 2015.

Masterson, who is the youngest sibling of actor big brothers including That 70s Show and The Ranch star Danny Masterson, returned to social media and about a week ago, left a very personal and poignant response to the haters:

“Why do people feel the need to pick on me because of how I look? Why do people keep calling me “fat” or “ugly”? I don’t understand.” she captioned a photo of herself laying on her side on a pillow facing the camera . “How much time do you have on your hands? Look around you. Look at what’s happening on our planet. Please, focus your energy on something POSITIVE. Instead of trolling people on social media, why not do something to HELP others. Would you ever say those things to a stranger? Face to face? Probably not.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/BhACaVjguLl/

She continued:

“We have to stop letting our kids, peers, and elders get away with bullying. Stand up to it. Say something. Be the example. Teach EMPATHY. THIS is why kids harm themselves. THIS is why kids have low self esteem. THIS is why kids pick themselves apart in the mirror. STOP. My body is my body. I was born this way. I have stretch marks, lumps, bumps, cellulite and everything else in between. It’s ok. I am ok with it. I’m not skinny. I’m not fat. I’m not ugly. I’m not pretty. I’m just ME. And I make an effort to better myself and my body everyday. My family is healthy. I’m healthy. I’m extremely fortunate to be alive and breathing. So please, to any kid out there that feels uncomfortable in their own skin – don’t. You were created exactly how you were supposed to be. And I love you. ❤”

Well said. Recently, another co-star, Steven Ogg, unleashed on celeb trolls in a post-mortem interview following his character’s exit from the show this week, by way of the merciless Nagan.

That’s why Alanna’s post was so beautiful, because fuck off. Why are you harassing people?” Ogg told HuffPo. “Go fucking do something productive with your life.”

For the record, we love her body as is and think Alanna is GORGE!

Always bringing a bit of Marlowe with me. ❤
A post shared by Alanna (@alannamasterson) on Oct 22, 2017 at 8:46pm PDT

My favorite bathroom in all of NYC. ?
A post shared by Alanna (@alannamasterson) on Feb 10, 2017 at 4:37pm PST

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Celebrity

Thank You Tamera Mowry-Housley for Raising Awareness About C-Section Postpartum Woes

Posted on October 4, 2017

Tamera Mowry-Housley shared some of her own personal insight into some of the pains that women who undergo a C-Section endure when viewers of her FOX panel talk show The Real started to reply to a segment today on the show.

One follower who replied to her general tweet about the realities of C-section especially when you’re nursing.

“I know sum1 whose c-section stitching came undone just from tryin to get out of the shower,” the Twitter user Eunice responded.

To that, The Real co-host said hers “came undone when” she “had to pick up” her son, Aden. Ouch!

Mowry-Housley and her husband FOX News Correspondent Adam Housley welcomed daughter Ariah Talea in July 2015 and son Aden Tanner in November 2012.

My incision came undone when I had to pick up my son! https://t.co/hwccFPGgry
— Tamera Mowry-Housley (@TameraMowryTwo) October 4, 2017

So happy that there are people out there that understand the realities of a c section. It’s not easy. Especially when you’re nursing!
— Tamera Mowry-Housley (@TameraMowryTwo) October 4, 2017

What followed was heartwarming and great for awareness building. Many other users offered their own stories which could elevate the understanding among those who have never had a C-section or have misconceptions about it.

I know personally,I could relate to the one about the guts on the tray. My husband almost passed out when she made the mistake of peering over the surgery screen and got an eyefull of entrails! Eeeek!

“Women don’t get enough credit for enduring this surgery(they put your organs on a tray, my Husband looked)&then going right into motherhood,” a woman named Dawn Venosa Mannix added to the discussion.

Women don’t get enough credit for enduring this surgery(they put your organs on a tray, my Husband looked)&then going right into motherhood
— Dawn Venosa Mannix (@DawnMannix) October 4, 2017

“It hurt to laugh, sneeze, cough, pee. Everything hurts,” chimed in user named Beach Bunni. “We still have to care for our newborn while healing. It makes us stronger though.”

So true, sister!

I It hurt to laugh, sneeze, cough, pee. Everything hurts. We still have to care for our newborn while healing. It makes us stronger though.
— Beach Bunni ? (@chocolate_tingz) October 4, 2017

Writing for HuffPo Parents, blogger Kate Auletta offers 9 things no one tells you about C-Section.

DURING THE SURGERY

1. That “mild tugging sensation” line was clearly first said by a man. Mild is perhaps the understatement of the century. You feel like the wind is being taken out of you as your teeth chatter from the anesthesia. This is not a surgery for claustrophobes, as you’re completely stuck on the table — arms pinned down — while the inability to breathe overwhelms you.

IN THE HOSPITAL

2. The catheter keeps you company in the days following birth because you can’t really walk to the bathroom without those trusty ab muscles helping you out (more on that below). And then, as in all cases with a catheter, you have to learn to pee again — the longer the catheter is in, it seems, the harder it is to remember how to pee. Also not fun when you have a nurse and some loved ones waiting outside the bathroom door and you feel like you’re 5 again.

3. Have someone teach you how to even get up and out of bed. Congratulations! Your ab muscles are completely non-existent now. The good news: Your arms are gonna get buff.

AT HOME

4. Do yourself a solid and go to your local drug store (or better yet, send someone else) to buy some big-ass high-waisted underwear. You’re not gonna want anything — zippers, buttons, elasticized underwear — coming near your stomach, especially the birth area, for a while.

5. Walking is a challenge. Your core is called your core for a reason. Go easy on yourself.

6. Those drugs are your best friend. Give yourself some time to wean off the heavy stuff. Stock up on Aleve, which you’ll also need daily, and be prepared to use it A LOT.

7. I’m getting really real here now: Get some Colace. Your first bowel movement will hurt that much more since you have no stomach muscles with which to push. But man, will you be proud when you walk out of that bathroom.

8. You can’t lift anything because of how it can affect your core, and you can’t really lean over to even empty the dishwasher. Basically, best case scenario is that you’re an immobile, milk-producing machine with a baby attached to your breast sideways cause you’re scared he or she will kick the scar.

9. Don’t worry. No matter how your child is born, it’ll still likely be the best thing that ever happens to you, you tired shell of your former self.

Thank you!

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5 More Ways to Prepare for an Unexpected Pregnancy

Posted on July 26, 2015

HuffPo republished a recent piece from Go Girl Finance on 5 things you should do if you become unexpectedly pregnant.

It includes a well-thought out list from a woman who learned she and her spouse would be getting a new arrival they did not plan for.

Her advice included things like make sure you have adequate insurance, start saving, cease splurging on frivolous items and be mindful that children don’t need the best, so just be frugal.

From a financial standpoint, this is great advice. However, from an emotional standpoint, especially for a woman who is not committed yet to the person she winds up pregnant with, the preparation will require additional steps.

Here is what I will add:

1. Seek support immediately from a close family member, friend, clergy, therapist, close neighbor, psychic, or whomever you feel close enough to or comfortable with discussing things like an unplanned pregnancy.

You don’t want to rush into anything like abortion, adoption, solo-parenthood or forced commitment with a person you don’t want to stay committed to without being able to process and talk out your concerns and feelings.

Going through it all in your head is not a good idea because your feelings and thoughts will change and adjust hourly, if not daily. This is a highly emotional time. Also, due to your pregnancy, your hormones will be all over the place.

2. If you decide to end the pregnancy or go through the pregnancy and then put up your child for adoption, spend a little extra time getting counseling for the psychological short and long term effects of those decisions as they will stay with you for the rest of your life. They may haunt you when you least expect it years into the future so be aware and prepared to process feelings associated with an abortion or adoption when they crop again later.

Further, different states have different laws. You need to know what you can and cannot do. Also, Religious people will have separate feelings to deal with as well, based on their beliefs, moral and religious codes and upbringing.

I have friends who face a little infertility or later give birth to a child with a disability who have blamed it on a past abortion they had. Even Toni Braxton wrote in her autobiography that she felt having a son with autism was punishment from God for having aborted a child early in her career because it wasn’t convenient.

3. If you decide to go through with the pregnancy, make sure you have emotional and financial support from family and close ties. You cannot go it alone, especially if you decide to not continue with the relationship with the man for whom you are pregnant. Pregnancy and parenthood are majors life altering undertakings.

4. See the steps from this HuffPo piece and secure healthcare and mind your finances. If you are in school still or have a low to moderate income job, do some research into what supplemental income, food or healthcare support may be available to you. The U.S. Government will cover unwed teens and their children under Medicare and the new Healthcare law (euphemistically called “Obamacare”) expands coverage to other low-income adults. Find out when the enrollment period is and get covered.

If you are in school, you will need to make plans for taking exams if they interfere with your due date and when you return, you’ll have to now work in childcare when you’re in class. You may have to forgo night or evening classes depending on your support options.

5. If you and your partner are committed, sit down and start mapping out plans for future, including division of labor and how your pooled income will be spent. Make sure you still put aside even $25 or more each paycheck for your own personal fund so you have some independence and a modest safety net just in case things go south. It’s best to be prepared than simply move forward on hope and a prayer for a good outcome.

Also, check out your job’s human resources manual to see what your rights are and if you have a female co-worker who has had a baby before, see if you can have lunch with her and ask her what to expect.

Being mindful and prepared is the best way to go into an unplanned pregnancy.

Image: HuffPo

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BumpNews

STUDY: Fetuses of smoking moms cover their faces when mom inhales

Posted on March 25, 2015

Researchers, analyzing 4-D ultrasound of women who smoked while pregnant, determined that fetuses move their mouths and cover their faces when their pregnant moms inhaled cigarettes.

Researchers from Durham and Lancaster Universities in the U.K. analyzed 80 high-definition ultrasound scans of 20 fetuses that were at 24 and 36 weeks of gestation into pregnancy.

Typically, fetuses do move their mouths and touch themselves, HuffPo notes, citing the study, but this movement tends to decline as birth approaches and the fetus gains more control over its motor functions.

“[Ideally], when we show mothers… these videos of fetuses showing increased movement, they will be more inclined to stop smoking,” the study’s lead author Dr. Nadja Reissland of England’s Durham University said in a video by the Press Association, a U.K. media organization.

Dr. Reissland said she hopes these images will one day be used as educational tools to help expectant mothers make healthier choices.

Even though they know better, about 10 percent of expecting US moms still smoke while pregnant and they do so despite knowing the risks.

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