Actress Shay Mitchell is pregnant and expecting her first child with boyfriend Matte Babel, and so far, it’s been quite a ride. Mitchell has already opened up about her devastating miscarriage last year, been party to a Power Rangers-themed gender reveal, and come all the way around on adult diapers. Looks like she’s not stopping there either! In the newest episode of her YouTube series “Almost Ready,” for which she is documenting her pregnancy, Mitchell has an argument with her boyfriend about having an epidural.
“I’ve been thinking a lot about this birth plan,” Mitchell says to Babel in the video, “and I feel like we need to be more on the same page with this. You say no epidural, I say epidural.”
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“Am I partial to no epidural? Yes,” Babel responds. “Why? Because I’m a hypochondriac. I’m afraid of drugs. My mom didn’t use an epidural … I meet women all the time who didn’t choose to use epidurals.”
“Most men don’t understand what it’s like to be pregnant and that can be frustrating,” writes Mitchell in the video description, “especially when they have opinions on how we should navigate labor and postpartum. Luckily, I think I found a way for Matte to walk in my shoes… as least for a minute.”
She took this to its logical conclusion after her epidural argument with Babel.
“Would you get a root canal without any drugs?” she asks him in the video. “You’re in excruciating pain and I’m holding the medicine like this and I’m like, ‘You can have it and it wouldn’t do any harm, but you don’t want it. Do you want to be a fighter? Fight through it.’ “
“A root canal is not comparable,” Babel responds, “because you’re not born to go through a root canal. As a woman, your body is genetically engineered to give birth.”
“Well listen, next time, you can do this,” jokes Mitchell.
And that’s when she breaks out the 30 lb. fake pregnancy belly for Babel to wear.
Babel is initially very hesitant to put the fake belly on, but Mitchell insists, saying she wants him to feel exactly what she feels as they go on a romantic hike together.
Eventually, Babel relents and puts on the fake belly — under a sweatshirt — and heads out on a hike with Mitchell.
He looks a little ridiculous, but he finds a way to own it. So point Mitchell, and here’s hoping Babel listens to her about the epidural now.
Last year, Mitchell suffered a devastating miscarriage. After revealing her tragedy with fans, she said, “When it happened, I was just completely blindsided by it.”
“I still have those photos on my phone and I still have all the doctor visits … and it’s weird because I haven’t looked at them, obviously,” she said. “But it’s not like I forgot about that happening.”
“I know other women and other friends of mine who’ve gone through a way harder journey,” Mitchell also said. “It’s just really tough because you feel broken, as a woman, and that’s not a great feeling.”
Mitchell and Babel have already been through so much, so it’s great to see them enjoying the eccentricities of pregnancy — the plans, the confusion, the small disagreements — while in good spirits. We wish them both luck on the rest of their journey!
And again, it’s worth restating: Babel, listen to your girlfriend about what she wants in the delivery room! If she says epidural, she gets an epidural!