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Gabrielle Union and Dwyane Wade Announce Birth of Daughter via Surrogate


There’s nothing like surprise celebrity baby news to brighten up a day. On Thursday, November 8, Gabrielle Union took to social media to announce that she and her husband, NBA star Dwyane Wade, were the proud parents to a new baby girl. Their child was born the day before, November 7, via a surrogate.

Union has been extremely open about her struggles with infertility in the past, but the couple had kept the surrogacy private until she posted pictures of herself and Wade snuggling their new daughter. In the caption Union wrote, “A LOVELY DAY. We are sleepless and delirious but so excited to share that our miracle baby arrived last night via surrogate and 11/7 will forever be etched in our hearts as the most loveliest of all the lovely days. Welcome to the party sweet girl! #onelastdance #skintoskin @dwyanewade”

See the happy announcement, below:

The couple are already parents to Wade’s sons Zaire and Zion, from a previous relationship, and help raise Wade’s nephew Zahveon, and they’ve spoken publicly about the desire to have a child together. That wasn’t always the case, though. “I never wanted kids,” she said. “Then I became a stepmom, and there was no place I’d rather be than with them.”

In her book We’re Going to Need More Wine, Union opened up about her IVF treatments and revealed she had multiple miscarriages. “I have had eight or nine miscarriages,” she writes. “For three years, my body has been a prisoner of trying to get pregnant—I’ve either been about to go into an IVF cycle, in the middle of an IVF cycle, or coming out of an IVF cycle.” But she noted that she and Wade “remain bursting with love and ready to do anything to meet the child we’ve both dreamed of.”

Now, they have their “miracle baby” and celebrities and fans alike could not be happier for the couple. “What a blessing!!! I am so happy for you guys!!!” Janelle Monae commented on Union’s post. And director Ava Duvernay wrote, “How wonderful!” See just a few reactions, below:

Wade’s team, the Miami Heat, also weighed in and already have a baby gift ready.

Many congratulations to the happy family! We can’t wait to hear her name and see more photos.

Related: Gabrielle Union ‘Finally’ Got Answers About Her History of Miscarriages





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Keira Knightley Criticizes the Expectations Set on Kate Middleton After Giving Birth


Keira Knightley is taking society’s expectations for women’s bodies before, during, and immediately after pregnancy—and that includes some thoughts on the expectations set on Kate Middleton to appear for photographs hours after giving birth.

In a powerful essay that appears in the new collection Feminists Don’t Wear Pink (And Other Lies), Knightley contributed a piece titled “The Weaker Sex,” which she dedicated to her daughter. In it, the actress recounts her daughter Edie’ birth story in intimate detail in an effort to combat the unrealistic expectations set on women to be perfect moments after bringing life into the world.

Refinery29 published excerpts from Knightley’s essay, which begins:

“My vagina split. You came out with your eyes open. Arms up in the air. Screaming. They put you on to me, covered in blood, vernix, yourhead misshapen from the birth canal. Pulsating, gasping, screaming.You latched on to my breast immediately, hungrily, I remember thepain. The mouth clenched tight around my nipple, light sucking on andsucking out. I remember the s—, the vomit, the blood, the stitches. Iremember my battleground. Your battleground and life pulsating.Surviving. And I am the weaker sex?”

Knightley then explained that Edie’s birth came just one day before Middleton gave birth to her second child, Princess Charlotte. The pictures and videos showing the Duchess smiling and holding Charlotte on the hospital steps came in stark contrast to what Knightley herself was experiencing after giving birth.

“We stand and watch the TV screen. She was out of hospital seven hours later with her face made up and high heels on. The face the world wants to see. Hide. Hide our pain, our bodies splitting, our breasts leaking, our hormones raging,” she wrote. “Look beautiful, look stylish, don’t show your battleground, Kate. Seven hours after your fight with life and death, seven hours after your body breaks open, and bloody, screaming life comes out. Don’t show. Don’t tell. Stand there with your girl and be shot by a pack of male photographers.”

If Kate felt well enough to stand out there for photos after giving birth (and, more importantly, wanted to), that’s absolutely fine. She’s done it three times now, and Diana did it too—making it something of a royal tradition. But it’s not the reality of what the hours after birth are like for many women, who took to social media after the birth of Prince Louis this year to share photos of themselves exhausted and worn out after labor—a stark contrast to what the cameras pointing at Middleton saw through their lenses.

Though the essay does mention Middleton by name, Knightley’s focus is squarely on the pressures put upon women (royals and non-royals alike)—pressures she says men rarely experience. And that includes on the job:

“I turn up on time, word perfect, with ideas and an opinion. I am up with you [her daughter] all night if you need me. Sometimes I cry I’m so tired. Up with you all night and work all day… My male colleagues can be late, can not know their lines. They can shout and scream and throw things. They can turn up drunk or not turn up at all. They don’t see their children. They’re working. They need to concentrate.”

Instead, she wrote women must “be pretty. Stand there… Be nice, be supportive, be pretty but not too pretty, be thin but not too thin, be sexy but not too sexy. Be successful but not too successful. Wear these clothes, look this way, buy this stuff.”

She closed by noting, “I work with men, and they worry that I don’t like them. It makes them mad, it makes them sad, it makes them shout and scream. I like them. But I don’t want to flirt and mother them… I don’t want to flirt with you because I don’t want to fuck you, and I don’t want to mother you because I am not your mother.”

The entire essay can be found in Feminists Don’t Wear Pink (And Other Lies), which is available now.

Related Content:
These Powerful Photos Capture the Beauty of Mothers Around the World
The Frame That Holds the Big Picture: How Mothers and Daughters Can Change the Way We Talk About Being Women
We Challenged Women to Post One Selfie—Declaring How Much They Love Their Body



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Pete Davidson Joked About Messing With Ariana Grande's Birth Control on 'SNL'


The 44th season of Saturday Night Live premiered on Saturday night—and it definitely gave fans a lot to talk about. There was Matt Damon’s portrayal of a super bro-y Brett Kavanaugh in the show’s cold open, as well as Kanye West performing dressed first as a giant bottle of Perrier and then in a MAGA hat. But there was one moment during Pete Davidson‘s turn on the “Weekend Update” desk that Twitter is decidedly not ok with.

While sitting down with SNL cast mate Colin Jost to chat about his engagement (and whether or not the couple has a prenup), Davidson joked that his fiancee, singer Ariana Grande, pays $60,000 for rent while all he has to do is “stock the fridge.” When Jost commented that a man “doesn’t always have to be the breadwinner in a relationship,” Davidson replied, “G*****n right, he does not—last night I switched her birth control with Tic Tacs.”

“I believe in us, and all,” he continued, “I just want to make sure she can’t go anywhere.”

If you’re fully cringing at this statement, you are definitely not alone.

Fans on Twitter were less than thrilled with the comment, especially given the timing of this weeks episode. “Apparently Pete Davidson thinks it’s ok to make jokes about switching Ariana’s birth control with tic-tacs?? Really? At this stage in the game this dude can no longer call these jokes,” wrote one fan on Twitter. “#SNL Pete Davidson joking that he switched Ariana Grade’s birth control with tic tacs IS COMPLETELY TONE DEAF given all of their needling of Kavanaugh.”

Many others chimed in in agreement, calling the joke “insensitive,” and urging SNL to “be better” with their content.

Davidson went on to joke that if the couple ever did break up, he’d be stuck working at K-Mart listening to Ariana Grande’s “Pete Davidson” blaring through the speakers.

Watch it all below:

[embedded content]

Related: Pete Davidson Shares How He Proposed to Ariana Grande, Says It Was ‘Dope’





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Brett Kavanaugh Called Birth Control "Abortion-Inducing Drugs" At Supreme Court Confirmation Hearing


On the third day of confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, Democratic senators continued their probe to get the conservative judge’s stance on women’s reproductive rights—and a clue in one of his answers may say it all.

In an exchange with Senator Ted Cruz (D-Tex.), Kavanaugh referred to birth control as “abortion-inducing drugs,” a term many women’s rights advocates say is dog-whistle politics and a clear nod to pro-lifers who oppose abortion.

Kavanaugh’s calculated answer came when Cruz asked the judge about his dissent in the case Priests for Life v. the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which involved an Affordable Care Act mandate that required employers to cover contraception for workers. Kavanaugh explained why he ultimately sided with the plaintiffs, who are an anti-abortion Catholic group.

“The question was first, was this a substantial burden on their religious exercise? And it seemed to me, quite clearly, it was,” Kavanaugh said. “They said filling out the form would make them complicit in the abortion-inducing drugs that they were, as a religious matter, objected to.”

For pro-choice supporters, the phrase “abortion-inducing drugs” is an alarm bell. Organizations such as the Center for Reproductive Rights pointed out that the verbiage is what many anti-abortion groups use to talk about contraception. “Saying ‘abortion-inducing drugs’ to describe contraception is straight out of the anti-choice, anti-science phrase book used to restrict women’s access to essential health care,” the Center for Reproductive Rights wrote on Twitter.

The wording is also just plain wrong. Contraception, which includes birth control and Plan B, does not cause abortions, despite the assertion of some organizations. Using contraceptive methods like birth control and IUDs can prevent fertilization from occurring, but it does not end existing pregnancies. But despite the facts, the concepts are often conflated among anti-abortion groups. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass) reminded the public of the misconception by tweeting, “Newsflash, Brett Kavanaugh: Contraception is NOT abortion. Anyone who says so is peddling extremist ideology – not science –and has no business sitting on the Supreme Court.”

Kavanaugh’s stance on reproductive rights has been questioned by many pro-choice supporters since President Donald Trump announced his nomination. Although Kavanaugh has stated he will abide by precedent set in Roe v. Wade, his record suggests anti-choice leanings. In addition to his defense in Priests for Life v. the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Kavanaugh also dissented in Garza v. Hargan and argued that an undocumented minor in U.S. detention could not receive an abortion. More evidence mounted late Wednesday, when leaked emails showed that while serving as a lawyer in the Bush administration, Kavanaugh had offered advice about changing a description that said Roe v. Wade was “the settled law of the land.”

On Thursday, Kavanaugh was also grilled by Senator Kamala Harris (D–Calif.), who asked him about the reproductive freedom of men compared to women. Kavanaugh stumbled while answering some of the questions—marking just another example of why Kavanaugh may be a threat to Roe v. Wade and other important principles of women’s rights.

MORE: Watch Kamala Harris Expertly Question Supreme Court Nominee Brett Kavanaugh on Reproductive Rights





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Cardi B Has Given Birth to a Baby Girl—and Her Name Is a Tribute to Offset


Cardi B, record-breaking rapper and relatable fashion icon, just confirmed the birth of her daughter via Instagram this morning (July 11).

According to TMZ, the little girl was born last night, on July 10, in an Atlanta hospital. Cardi’s husband, Offset, was by her side. Fans started to become suspicious that Cardi was in labor after the star—who is usually very active on social media—went conspicuously absent. As one user wrote on Twitter, “I bet cardi b is having her baby because she hasn’t been on social media all day ?.”

So naturally, Cardi turned to social media when it was time to announce her daughter’s arrival via an image of her while pregnant and surrounded by flowers. While she didn’t post a photo of the little one yet, she did reveal her daughter’s name: Kulture Kiari Cephus.

It seems Cardi and Offset, who were secretly married in September, were thinking of family with the choice. Offset’s given name is Kiari Kendrell Cephus. It’s possible the name is also a tribute to Offset’s rap trio Migos, who released two successful albums titled Culture and Culture II.

The rapper confirmed her pregnancy in true Cardi style during a live performance on Saturday Night Live in a custom Christian Siriano dress that showed off her baby bump. Since then, we’ve watched her hit the Met Gala red carpet, become the first female rapper to have two number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100, and clap back at people who said her career was over because she was having a baby. Just the day before Kulture was born, she was showing off baby gifts on her Instagram Stories.

Fans are celebrating Kulture’s arrival on social media—and analyzing her name, of course.

“Lissen, Cardi B’s name is Belcalis Marlenis Almanza and Offset’s name is Kiari Kendrell Cephus,” wrote one user. “They couldn’t just name their baby Jennifer. I’m here for extra spicy, Hogwarts spell-ass names. Welcome to the world, Kulture!”

Another commented, “I guess they’re really doing it for the culture now.”

While some are already ready for Baby #2.

Big congrats to Cardi and Offset! Now we wait for baby Kulture’s public debut—knowing Cardi, it’ll be iconic.





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Eva Longoria Just Gave Birth to a Baby Boy—See His Photo


Eva Longoria is officially a new mom.

The actress gave birth to her first child, a baby boy named Santiago Enrique, with husband José Bastón on Tuesday, June 19, she confirmed to Hola). Baby Santiago arrived at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, clocking in at 6 pounds 13 ounces. “We are so grateful for this beautiful blessing,” Longoria told the publication. And by the looks of this first photograph, which Longoria and Bastón shared with Hola, both mother and baby are doing well and soaking up plenty of newborn snuggles.

Check out the photo for yourself, below:

Santiago is Longoria’s first child, but he joins three siblings from Bastón’s previous marriage. The couple celebrated the two-year anniversary of their Mexico wedding in May, after dating since 2013.

“It if happens, it happens—if it’s meant to be it would be a blessing,” Longoria told Ocean Drive magazine about having children back in 2016, according to E! News. A year before that, Longoria gushed about Bastón’s children to People magazine. “[My stepchildren have] been such a gift in my life,” she said. “I don’t feel like we are lacking because we don’t have a baby.”

The Desperate Housewives actress first confirmed her pregnancy in December 2017, and in the following months she served up some serious pregnancy style on the red carpet and beyond. For her baby shower, last month, Longoria opted for a pajama-themed soirée that looked as comfy as it was fun. Family and friends joined her to celebrate, including such A-listers as Sophia Bush, Elizabeth Banks, Roselyn Sanchez, and Marcia Cross. (Missing from the action: bestie Victoria Beckham.) “So thankful for the beautiful baby shower, definitely felt the love,” Longoria wrote on Instagram at the time.

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