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Sofia Richie Grainge at the 66th Annual GRAMMY Awards held at Crypto.com Arena on February 4, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Gilbert Flores/Billboard via Getty Images)© Gilbert Flores

Sofia Richie experienced 'terrifying' contractions for six weeks before daughter's birth

Lionel Richie's daughter welcomed her first child in May

Jenni McKnight
US Lifestyle Editor
October 15, 2024
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Sofia Richie Grainge has revealed that she experienced contractions for six weeks before she finally welcomed her daughter, Eloise, in May.

The 25-year-old daughter of Lionel Richie appeared on the She MD podcast on Tuesday to discuss her difficult pregnancy with the show's host, and Sofia's own OBGYN, Dr. Thais Aliabadi.

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"I'm actually really excited to be here with you guys today just because now that I have my child, I'm like, I feel like people really don't talk about all the things that go wrong and all the things after you give birth that are so hard," Sofia told Dr. Aliabadi and her co-host Mary Alice Haney.

Sofia recalled that her pregnancy appeared to be going as planned until she reached 32 weeks and woke up one day "really tired" with a sore back and feeling "crampy".

Checking in with Dr. Aliabadi, Sofia was advised to visit the fetal specialist to make sure everything was fine with her baby, but she wasn't prepared for the outcome.

"They hooked me up to the monitor and they were like, 'You're in active labor.' I was really terrified."

sofia richie holding baby daughter eloise© Instagram
Sofia experienced contractions for six weeks before giving birth

Sofia spent six days in the hospital before she was permitted to go home. "I was begging. I was like, 'Please, please let me go home.'

"And she was like, 'You can go home, but you're on bed rest. We have to monitor you,'" Sofia explained. "So that's what I did. It was kind of a waiting game from there."

Sofia with baby Eloise© Instagram
Sofia spent six weeks on bed rest

Sofia spent the next six weeks contracting while on bed rest before she was "induced at 38 weeks".

"I gave birth and I was like, 'Wow, I really did that,'" Sofia recalled. "I did six weeks or however many weeks of contractions and I have my beautiful daughter. I'm healthy. I'm safe. She's healthy. She's safe."

Baby Eloise in Dior© Instagram
Sofia was 'terrified' about going into active labor early

Dr. Aliabadi praised Sofia, confirming that what she went through was a "traumatic" experience.

"She's amazing," Dr. Aliabadi said of her patient. "This girl does not complain, by the way. What she went through, it was really traumatic. Six weeks she was having contractions."

Elliot with baby Eloise© Instagram
Elliot with baby Eloise

Sofia and her husband Elliot Grainge announced Eloise's arrival in May with a beautiful black and white photo of her daughter's feet.

"Eloise Samantha Grainge. 5.20.24 best day of my life," she wrote.

Elliot Grainge and Sofia Richie© Instagram
Elliot and Sofia are first-time parents

Sofia married music executive Elliot, the son of Universal Music Group boss Lucian Grainge, in April 2023 in an extravagant wedding at the stunning Hotel du Cap-Eden-Rock. The couple had been linked since 2021 after her on-off relationship with Scott Disick ended in 2020.

Sofia first announced her pregnancy in January with an adorable maternity shoot in Vogue.

Baby Eloise is growing so fast!© Instagram
Baby Eloise is growing so fast!

"She's growing pretty fast," she told the publication as she showed off her baby bump and pregnancy glow. 

"I've learned more in the past six months than I have in my entire life" she explained, including "what the female body is capable of. Every week brings new things, whether it's hormonal shifts or expansion—there's just so much our bodies go through, and it's so interesting to experience it all."

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