Angelina Jolie, Tina Fey, Kate Hudson talk ‘Pregnancy Secrets’


The book is called The Black Book of Hollywood Pregnancy Secrets, and it’s allegedly a tell-all. But from the excerpted stories, it just seems like a bunch of moms talking about their kids. Which is nice. So why all the drama? Oh, right, book sales. Authors Kym Douglas and Cindy Pearlman interviewed many Hollywood moms, including Angelina Jolie, Kate Hudson, Helena Bonham Carter, Katie Holmes and Tina Fey.

Authors Kym Douglas and Cindy Pearlman reveal Kate Hudson finds dating difficult as the single mother to her five-year-old son, Ryder.

[Hudson] says, “I do find it tough to date,” but swiftly adds, “I’d rather be at home with my son cooking dinner than going out with a guy. My son is my man.”

Jolie adds of raising her international brood of six kids with partner Brad Pitt, “We were in India (for Halloween) and Brad and the kids and I had an off celebration in the hotel we were staying at. We had candy sent up, which we said was from the saints.”

Meanwhile, American actress/comedienne Tina Fey takes a down-to-earth approach to parenting: “I don’t care how many (magazine) covers you’re on. When you’re chasing a three-year-old around with a pull-up (diaper) hoping she won’t poop on the floor, you’re just like every other mom on the planet.”

[From Contact Music]

I’m not really sure what Angie means by an “off celebration” – maybe she was misquoted? Maybe it’s like “off” the beaten path? Is there a Saint Off? Who knows. Tina Fey’s story is funny though. It reminds me of a story about my now dead dog, when he was alive and incontinent. Not to compare pets with children… *shock*… but I really wish I could have put a diaper on that dog. Anyhoo, doesn’t it seem like Kate Hudson’s kind of phoning it in? I mean, we see her out with *every* boyfriend, obviously she doesn’t love being alone with her son that much. There are other excerpts from the book, including some much juicier revelations from Helena Bonham Carter.

Helena Bonham Carter admits pregnancy made her defensive about her vices. The 42-year-old actress – who has two children with partner Tim Burton, son Billy, five and 13-month-old daughter Nell – found it impossible to give up coffee while pregnant, and developed a sharp retort for when she was criticized for succumbing to her caffeine cravings.

…If a man condemned her for drinking coffee, Helena would swiftly reply: “You try nine months of gestation and self-abnegation before you start censoring my diet. Your mother was probably on vodka, and do you have three heads?”

Helena limited her intake of the hot drink, but admits it was tough to give it up entirely. She said: “I didn’t drink caffeine as much as I would normally and try to restrict myself to one cup of coffee a day. One of my favourite dishes is carpaccio and I love sushi but I avoided them. Obviously anything with raw eggs was forbidden, too.”

The actress has previously revealed she was so desperate for a second child she took fertility drugs to boost her egg production, and also tried acupuncture and Chinese massage.

She said: “If I hadn’t got pregnant I think we probably would have tried IVF (in vitro fertilisation), yes. Obviously, you don’t know what you’d do unless you were actually in that situation. I think we might have gone for a round of IVF, but that would have been that.”

[From Monsters and Critics]

And after Helena told off Tim Burton with that “three heads” line, Burton jotted down some notes, met with some producers and started pre-production on The Three-Headed Vodka Boy, starring Johnny Depp. *rimshot* Seriously, when I think about what pregnant women used to get away with, it really makes me wonder about my mother’s generation. Pregnant women used to smoke throughout the whole nine months! They used to drink like fishes! They used to play with toxic chemicals! Well, maybe not that one, but I’m sure a couple of pregnant women tried.

Angelina Jolie is shown on 5/20/08 at Cannes. Credit: WENN. Kate Hudson is shown pregnant at the premiere of Le Divorce with Naomi Watts and Chris Robinson on 8/31/03. Helena Bonham Carter is shown out with Tim Burton on 11/28/07. Credit: Bauergriffin.

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29 Responses to “Angelina Jolie, Tina Fey, Kate Hudson talk ‘Pregnancy Secrets’”

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  1. Anna says:

    What’s that about not being able to eat raw eggs or sushi? I know that caffeine isn’t ideal and obviously smoking and alcohol are total no-no’s, but sushi? I can’t think of a healthier dish in the world!

    My favourite food is actually sushi and if I were to be pregnant, I would have a hard time giving it up. I hope that’s just bollocks!

    (as you can tell, I’m a 23-year old student who has no clue about pregnancies, so please be lenient)

  2. jess says:

    seriously kaiser…i think about everything that moms used to do before the health studies too. the only major thing ive ever heard about birth issues is back when that anti morning sickness pill was causing birth defects.

  3. jess says:

    @ anna…no raw eggs because of salmonella and no sushi because of high levels of mercury…

    from one 23 yr old college student to another *winky face* (are smiley still disabled?)

  4. breederina says:

    My mother in law was an early 60’s society babe and expected to attend endless functions. When her sister was getting married she was pregnant with my husbands bro. As she tells it that last month leading up to the wedding was an endless whirl of nonstop luncheons, cocktail parties and so on. Of course she smoked and drank cocktails and thank god for the pills the doctor gave her to keep up her energy or she would of been exhausted !

  5. Anna says:

    @jess: thanks for the clarification. I feel dumb now, like I should’ve been able to figure it out myself (at least the salmonella one). *lol*

    Is really every kind of sushi tainted with mercury? What about really high-end sushi? How come normal people (except, apparently, Jeremy Piven) don’t get mercury poisoning if they eat sushi regularly? I have it maybe once every two months (being on a student’s budget and all *g*)… I was hoping that by the time pregnancy becomes relevant for me, I’d be making enough money to have it whenever I felt like it. And now I CAN’T HAVE IT? Un-freaking-believable! 😉

    The best laid plans, huh? 🙂

  6. mojoman says:

    As a mom of a 2 years old, I was drinking coffee even in my first trimester, no 3 headed gollums there! as long as we drink in consideration (1-2 cups) is ok.

  7. Syko says:

    I had my kids in the 60s and 70s. Drinking was permitted, though I didn’t do it since I felt off-kilter enough anyway and didn’t want to fall. But my doctor would examine me and then we’d go into his office and have a cigarette together while he talked to me about my progress. Also we were not supposed to gain over 10 lb. so I was on amphetamines to keep from gaining. All three were over 8 lb. and overdue, so I guess it didn’t hurt them, but it scares me now to think about it.

  8. Aspen says:

    Alcohol is not a total no-no. Becoming tipsy or drunk is a total no-no. I get so tired of people jumping down a tired and anxious pregnant woman’s ass for drinking a glass of wine with dinner.

    Drinking more than a glass or two…or–god forbid–getting drunk is dangerous for the baby. Having a beer or a glass of wine is not. My OB actually encouraged it.

    I think there is entirely too much pressure on pregnant women…and most of it is hysterical rather than actually being useful.

  9. Ria says:

    My ob actually told me to drink of glass of wine at night towards the end of my pregnancy. I had terrible Braxton Hicks, and the medicine to treat it complete knocked me out and hung me over (I was an on call I.V. pharmacist and that was a no no). Wine is an old folk remedy that actually does work to slow conttractions.

    I drank Cokes all through my pregnancy.

  10. jenn says:

    pregnancy is all about the baby you have the rest of your lives to do what you want especially hollywood people with thier hired help i did i by myself {husband working}and now i can drink coffee beer or whatever else stop being selfish rich people i loved being pregnant just the thought of life inside me was enough to make me behave and im a mother of three all born from 1996 to 1999

  11. lunachick says:

    Regarding the sushi…raw fish doesn’t have any more mercury than cooked fish. Tuna – especially bluefin – tends to be high because it is a predator-level fish.

    Salmon normally has very low mercury, so that’s generally considered OK to eat; it’s an especially good idea to eat plenty of salmon (or DHA supplements) when you’re pregnant or nursing because DHA has been shown to aid the baby’s brain development.

    The no sashimi/no carpaccio during pregnancy thing is, as far as I know, just due to concern over parasites (which you’re no more likely to get when you’re pregnant than when you’re not), and possibly concern over bacteria if the fish is left sitting out too long.

    A lot of the admonishments given to pregnant women over minor things (like a small amount of caffeine) really go over-board in the U.S. I’m currently pregnant so I’m speaking from first hand experience!

    While I’m on the subject of preggo aggravations…what the hell is with people touching pregnant women’s bellies?! Complete strangers do this, it is so bizarre. Just, HELLO this is still my body and I don’t need you pawing me and I don’t want your unsolicited advice either, THANKS.

    Really! Who does that?!

  12. geronimo says:

    I love Helena B-C, such a bullshit-free zone. Wonder what pregnancy secrets Katie Holmes has? Can you find out more about those, Kaiser?!

  13. Codzilla says:

    I had a glass of wine several times a week during both pregnancies, and both my boys were over 8 pounds and healthy. It’s just so hard to get comfortable, physically (especially towards the end), and wine helped me relax and settle in a bit. The sushi thing was really, really hard. I’d eat the cooked stuff, but it just wasn’t the same. Tragic.

    Strangers never touched my belly when I was pregnant. I was a cranky bitch through both terms so maybe I gave off the “stay the hell away” vibe.

  14. Kaiser says:

    Syko, that’s astonishing to think of – I know it’s no comparison, but there are several episodes of “Mad Men” like that, where a pregnant woman is lighting up, or drinking hard liquor, or not wearing a seatbelt (no one wears seatbelts on that show)…it’s absolutely mind-blowing. That “not gaining more than 10 pounds” thing is scary.

  15. Bodhi says:

    Amphetamines?! Holy shit! That sounds like a terrible idea!

    When did you start writing Kaiser? Where the hell have I been?

  16. Kaiser says:

    Bodhi- More than a week ago. Notice the uptick in Gerard Butler threads?

    G – I couldn’t find the KateBot stuff, but I’ll look. Ten bucks says she’s thinks pregnancy is “amazing”.

  17. Bodhi says:

    😆 Actually I did!

  18. Kelly says:

    love you Helena B C

  19. vdantev says:

    I found having lots of sex with the wife does the trick. *chuckles*

  20. daisy424 says:

    Syko, my Mom used to take diet pills when she was pregnant with us kids. I have an old black & white picture of her, feet up in a lounge chair, 8 months pregnant with me smoking. All of her girlfriends took diet pills and smoked when they were pregnant, doctors didn’t want them to gain too much weight. It was the norm back then I guess. They didn’t tell them that their babies would go through nicotine withdrawal, what my Mom called “colic”.

    Kaiser, when we were kids, there wasn’t a seat-belt law. The adults would pack us kids into the back seat like sardines to go to the drive-in.

  21. Bella Mama says:

    the caffeine thing isnt about birth defects but miscarrying early in the pregnancy. Some people it wouldnt affect, others it will. who wants to take the chance?

  22. Lauri says:

    It’s not just RAW fish that is off limits during pregnancy; it is fish in general.

    My niece is going to give birth any second now and is already making plans for a big seafood dinner as soon as she feels up to it (and couple of beers, too~)

    Here’s hoping my grandniece is born by Christmas!

  23. Cheyenne says:

    Speaking of Katie Holmes, there’s a thread of her on Just Jared with some photos that shocked the shit out of me. She looks like a zombie with open sores on her mouth and feet. Something bad is going on with this woman. She needs help in the worst way.

    http://justjared.buzznet.com/2008/12/21/katie-holmes-beanie-beat/

  24. Codzilla says:

    “Just Jared” sounds like a site where you’d buy cheesy trinkets for your grandma.

  25. Cheyenne says:

    Jared’s actually pretty good, compared to some other sites. I’ve clicked on some blogs that were so toxic I wanted to run my whole hard drive through the washing machine.

  26. aleach says:

    lol. whenever i hear “Just Jared” i think of “Just Jack!” from will & grace.

  27. KatyAlia says:

    @ kaiser: could the off celebration be refering to the fact that she was in India (where Halloween might be unheard-of)?

    And wasn’t that 2 years ago? Them being in India, I mean…

  28. Miranda says:

    The reason sushi is a no-no is not actually due to mercury but to listeria, a rare bacteria that is found in raw foods and unpasteurized products. Although listeria is a bitch for adults (vomiting, diarrhea, etc.) it is potentially fatal in those with poor immune systems (babies, the elderly, etc.). So pretty much, California rolls (made with cooked synthetic crabmeat) are the totally safe option.
    I totally agree with Helena Bonham Carter. Before I got pregnant, I was drinking 3-4 VENTI vanilla lattes a day (long shifts as a telemarketer). Luckily, my first trimester morning sickness kept me away from any form of caffeine (or anything that smelled in general), but I still can’t picture living for an entire pregnancy without a cup of Earl Grey or a hot cocoa. 🙂

  29. Anna Marie says:

    Well all of these ladies look gorgeous! Was surprised with 6 kids of Angelina!!! Thought she has not got more than 4