We still don’t know a ton about George Clooney and Amal Clooney’s twins, or the delivery or whatever else. I kind of appreciate that – George is so old-school in his PR management, and he’s got a tight rein on what information is being released. I doubt we’ll ever know for sure if Amal had a C-section or whether she was induced or any of that. It’s none of our business, for one, but I honestly don’t see Amal getting on the competitive birthing/motherhood track of so many celebrity moms. She’s not going to give interviews about how her way was the best way or whatever. The Daily Mail does claim that Amal and George welcomed babies Alexander and Ella in the luxury wing of the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital:
Amal and George Clooney reportedly gave birth to twins in the same luxury hospital suite used by Cheryl and Liam Payne, back in March. The barrister and Hollywood superstar welcomed Ella and Alexander at the exclusive Kensington Wing of London’s Chelsea and Westminster Hospital on Monday, according to new reports.
The stars are expected to have paid £8,520 for a private suite on the wing, where lucky new mums are treated to smoked salmon for breakfast and £75 bottles of champagne. The Kensington Wing has 16 bedrooms, all with ensuite bathrooms and custom-made beds, supersize televisions, fridges and Wi-Fi.
Cheryl and Liam also gave birth to their first child, son Bear, at the wing three months ago, which was dubbed the ‘Rolls Royce’ of maternity wings. It costs a whopping £5,600 for a normal delivery there, while the Midwifery Led Care Platinum Package will set you back £9,100.
I’m sure there will be some people “disappointed” that Amal went for a hospital birth, but she seems like such a no-nonsense person in general, I bet everything was very planned out about the hospital suite, the doctor, all of the arrangements. Plus, she’s in her late 30s, it was a multiple birth, etc. It was probably considered a high-risk pregnancy, so of course she wanted to give birth in a hospital. But, as I said, we’ll probably never know the details.
What else? People Mag says that Amal’s mom Baria has been in London, buying gifts for the babies. I would guess that Baria will be sticking around for a while to help out her daughter. Salma Hayek also said something about the babies which struck me – Salma said: “I have no advice because his wife is Lebanese like me and I know his mother-in-law and his sister-in-law and I know those kids cannot be in better hands.” Meaning, George is being overrun by Lebanese women at the moment. He probably has barely gotten to hold the babies.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
Every woman should be able to give birth like this if she wants to. If you can afford it, go for it. I know I would. And is this a thing that couples now aren’t just pregnant together but give birth together? WTF? Men do NOT get credit for this.
Yes, they are rich as hell, they can do whatever they want . And congrats to both of them.
I know, “Amal and George gave birth?” I think not. Say they “welcomed” the babies, or whatever.
Edited to add, Ok I wouldn’t say “WE gave birth….”
But i give my husband lots of credit. There was a lot I couldn’t do without him. He remained calm on the drive after my water broke so I didn’t spiral, and after a full day of no sleep, managed to sit without moving for HOURS to rub my arm while I labored, fighting sleep to keep music going, staying present, and letting me do my thing. I’ve only done that with a sick toddler and it’s hard work. He advocated to the nurses when I couldn’t talk through transition, coached me through pushing better than the doctor, and exponentially increased my joy by being there to hold my girls with me and cry with happiness.
I could have done it alone, I’m sure if it, but I didn’t, and fully utilized his support, and I know it would have been a totally different experience without him, and he absolutely get credit for making it easier to focus on my delivery and not the noise, paperwork, and whatnot.
I mean, yeah my job was harder in my opinion, and WAY more painful, but being in the vicinity of my pain and labor doesn’t make his fatigue and mental stamina easier.
Exactly. I’m all for natural home births but having multiples that way would be too risky imo and I’ve had two of my babies at home so strongly support it. She went for a great hospital which puts it’s profits into the NHS so I’m really happy they chose this option.
I like the way they are keeping the pregnancy and birth on the low down. A quick announcement of the birth plus baby names. No drama or over saturation. Unlike their wedding LOL
I would hope people wouldn’t be disappointed about another person’s birth plan (assuming it wasn’t something ridiculously risky like giving birth while skydiving).
Disappointed that she gave birth in a hospital? Here in France 99% of women give birth in hospital or clinics. There’s very very few women who give birth at home ( less than 1%), there’s strict conditions, and if you have twins you can’t do it , you have to go to hospital. As for birthing centres ( i think that’s how you name those structures where women can have their babies in a less medicalized environment, only assisted by midwives) they are almost non-existent.Until this year ,they were not allowed!( the delivery had to take place in a hospital) Now they are, but they are experimental for 5 years only.
It’s really a shame-malpractice insurance for midwives is crazy expensive so a lot of medical practices that had them on staff had to let them go. I had my kids at a hospital because there was no way in hell Mr. Cynical was letting me give me birth without specialists there just in case. But I couldn’t wait to get home and sleep in my own bed and eat real food. Hospitals are incredibly germy with serious things-once you’ve had your procedure, the less time people spend there the better.
I doubt that in any industrialized country there is a sane midwife or MD who would agree to assist in a birth of multiples that was not in a hospital. Even with a vaginal birth with no forseeable complications, my twins were born in the OR and each had his or her own neo-natal team at the ready in addition to my OBGYN and L&D nurse. It’s a big deal. Mine were both healthy, thank God.
My sister had her son and daughter at home. She says she wouldn’t have had it any other way. Her daughter she actually delivered herself, in the bathroom, because she wanted that private moment when they first met. Hubby and doula hovering on the other side of the door lol.
Yes. It’s nobody’s business how a woman/couple choose to give birth.
Chelsea and Westminster?! That’s a peasant hospital, private wing notwithstanding.
If they truly wanted to signal exclusivity, they should have gone to the Lindo wing of St Mary’s hospital, Paddington or The Portland Hospital or St John and St Elizabeth hospital!!!
I was going to say that this was less posh than I expected. The NHS shunts its overspill patients in that wing sometimes. Peasants may have been near them!
I had the Sixlets at Queen Charlotte’s in Chiswick instead of at home because I was mother-of-interest for a teaching hospital due to health history.
I was surprised they went to C & W. I suppose it provided the level of privacy needed since there are no paps hanging about.
I’d imagine that’s it. Certainly not for posh points, anyway.
I gave birth there too, Sixer. It was a great experience apart from a shitty midwife. She kept making comments about how weird it was that I had my own father there. My mum wasn’t in the picture and my husband died when I was 7 months pregnant. My dad was the only reason I got through it. Everyone else was lovely.
I had a good experience both times. Was also part of a study, so hopefully helped medicine along a bit, too!
I don’t really understand some of the comments vis a vis how it all works stateside. I went to my GP, said I was pregnant, he said do you want home birth, midwife unit, or hospital? No particular agenda as to what was best. Just whatever I wanted. I thought that’s how it worked everywhere!
I chose hospital because they were keen for study participants but would probably have gone with a midwife unit otherwise.
Right? I gave birth there. It’s been a few years but at the time I believe it was my cheapest option for a private suite.
It’s actually quite nice, some of the posher options suites had a very drab, depressing, outdated 50’s vibe, but as far as cost and ‘image’ go this isn’t some super exclusive choice.
I had my son there and a c section I left after 2 nights. They said you should stay 3-4 nights I asked you can’t keep me here can you? No then I want to go. Private wing might be great but …. also if you have problems at the Portland you will be sent to a NHS one. I can’t fault the NHS as my son is Type 1 diabetic and his care is fantastic but my birth experience. My own flat better.
Haha! The Kensington Wing is nice but it’s not exactly luxurious.
I gave birth at the Lindo (upgraded to the royal suite no less!) which was also, whilst very nice, not exactly the Ritz.
I think the Portland is the only hospital in London that really can be said to be luxurious. However, it doesn’t have a full paediatric ER so I doubt it was ever in consideration for a multiples birth. (I didn’t even want to go there for my singleton birth! I have to have an elective Caesar for any subsequent panda babies so might consider it next time though 🙂 )
Congratulations!
They from the Middle-East they never leave the couple alone.
I normally couldn’t care less about celebrities babies, but in this case I am kind of dying to see them. I bet they are some pretty brunette babies.
As opposed to blonde babies?
Nothing wrong with blonde babies at all! I’m just going on the assumption that THEIR babies will have dark hair due to them both being brunettes. Chill.
I don’t know, L84T, my parents are dark haired/dark eyed and my brother popped out blond haired blue eyed. I’m dark hair/dark eyed, my ex is dark haired/dark eyed, my son popped out blonde haired/blue eyed.
Can you imagine the gossip and conspiracies if they did have blonde hair/blue eyed babies. LOL
@KiddVicious, they’d probably say the babies belonged to Brad Pitt–ha!!…My sons each popped out with almost black hair, one with dark hazel eyes and the other blue. Now at ages 4 and 2, my oldest has medium brown hair and dark hazel eyes, and my younger son’s hair is blonde and he has blue eyes. So who knows really. I just think babies who pop out with heads full of pretty hair are extra adorable!
I hope we see them soon, too. I bet they’re beautiful.
Grandpa Clooney had his baby!
Don’t know what the big deal is over being in a private sweet. Many celebs here take over whole floors. Their money and they can spend it how they want.
The hospital they used is primarily NHS. Private suites are the exception NOT the rule. It’s also not glamourous hospital to attract hollywood types, but a regular hospital with regular people.
I think the PR portion of their statement is the part where they emphasise the use of private suite as opposed to allowing the public to think they had the babies on a room assigned to regular folk that is also free to use.
Thanks for the explanation.
American here. My routine c-section with no complications cost more than Amal’s luxury suite. And I definitely didn’t get champagne! Thank you American health care system.
Amen. I have excellent heath insurance, but I got a glimpse at the cost without it last year when we were expecting (prior to a loss) and my eyeballs fell out of my head. How do people without insurance afford unplanned pregnancies? That’s crazy pants!
Mine, too! My regular hospital delivery was $15k before health insurance.
Yeah, how’s that going to work with Trumpcare? From my understanding, getting maternity coverage is optional. So only the people with maternity coverage are going to absorb the costs
Congratulations to the proud parents. As I’m sure George is finding out Lebanese families can be full on, but we mean well!
Slightly OT note: She really has had the best rhinoplasty I’ve seen on a public figure/”celebrity”. Some think Blake Lively’s, or even Bella Hadid’s (imo not good work, but certainly transformative), but Amal’s is maestro level work. As a (former, now retired) aesthetic surgeon I really want to hat-tip her surgeon every time I see her picture. They kept the individuality of her features, considered her other features as a whole and didn’t over shorten, reduce extensively nor over shave the bridge. Plus it succeeds in the most important criteria in deciding whether a rhinoplasty is successful: it looks like she was born with that nose. Great work.
I’ve thought the same about Amal’s nose. I also think Kate Middleton’s nose job looks natural.
I think it’s lovely that Amal is getting support from the women in her family, especially in the case of twins. Priceless.
Anyone disappointed that she had a hospital birth needs to get over themselves.
Amal had twins which automatically made the birth higher risk.
in France , you can’t have twins elsewhere than in a hospital. You d’on’t have the choice ( btw, you have little choice even if you don’t have twins. There’s not really an alternative to hospitals). So the post surprised me quite a bit.
In the US, you have twins in the OR, even if no c-section is planned. They just want to be ready in case the second baby is in distress and needs out right away.
@Molly – not always.
my step sister was more of a Taco Bell chick after giving birth.
She didn’t have a c section but they were close because the baby kept going back in.
Serious, I have no shade for people spending a lot of money (if they have it) on this kind of birth. None. I wish all women could be in this luxury but that’s not George and Amal’s problem. Congrats to the both! <3
People are disappointed a woman in her late 30s gave birth to twins in a hospital? Seriously?
I know, if I were in Amal’s place, I’d not only be having twins in a hospital, but they’d be removed from me surgically. I’m not shading Amal for how & where the babies were born, the age thing I’m not even going to go on record about primarily because I could be shading people who had kids at a younger age. For me, it’s going to be inevitable that I’m a late in life mother, 68 years ago my paternal grandmother was around Amal’s age when my father was born. That was unheard of back then, so she was ahead of her time(my grandmother). Congratulations to George & Amal.
Yeah well if they used the NHS, private suite or not I hope they remember to big up the NHS seeing as its on its goddam knees and we could do with some hokey vaguely charismatic promotion of Universal health care.
Salma Hayek is Lebanese??!!
Her father is from Lebanon
Of course. Don’t ALL the 1% er’s to this??? you sure don’t see average people in there.
Was that leak to the Daily Fail sent by Cheryl and Liam’s PR?
When people judge other people’s birth decisions, I just say that the only thing that matters is that mother and baby (ies) are okay.
That being said, wish I had the option of staying longer in the hospital with my first. I was out in 2 days and since I gave birth at 11:30PM (after36 hrs of labor) really could have used more time to recover. So good for her, and hope that everyone is adjusting. Twins run in my family and they are rough on first time parents.
They probably brought everything new, even the hospital bed. I’m sure the hospital bed and suite furniture probably stays. So basically, this room got a up-do bc of them.
But how about the other parts of the NHS for the rest of us? Hopefully, they are yearly donors to the hospital.
It is pretty outrageous. Just jack up taxes on the wealthy and dump this money to health and human services and education.