Amanda Seyfried says she enjoyed childbirth so much, she almost became a doula

Childbirth is an amazing thing, no doubt. But some people have great experiences while others, well, don’t. Amanda Seyfried says her own experience with childbirth was so “amazing,” that she considered becoming a doula.

In a new interview with Marie Claire, Seyfried talks about how close she became to switching careers.

Related: Postpartum doulas are the support system all new mothers need

“I was like, This is the most amazing thing I’ve ever been a part of,” she says about childbirth. “I have to be there for women;  childbirth is amazing. I was talking to my doula a lot about what she did. I was like, That sounds like the best thing, and I just wanted to be there when people have a baby.”

Because of the requirements and certifications required to officially become a doula, Seyfried ultimately decided against pursuing it as a career.

“I’m better at, like, taking pictures and massaging the back,” she says.

Typically, a birth doula needs to complete 7 to 12 hours of childbirth education, 16 hours of birth doula training and must attend at least 2 to 5 births. A postpartum doula usually attends about 27 hours of postpartum doula education and assists two or more women with postpartum support.

Unlike other traditional medical practitioners like obstetricians and nurse-midwives, those with doula training do not give medical advice or have clinical duties. Doulas do, however, provide critical support and assistance during labor and birth, which provides support to and eases the process for the birthing parent.

Related: The 5 things a doula wishes new moms knew about postpartum life

Seyfried and her husband, fellow actor Thomas Sadoski (from The Newsroom), married in 2017 just days before welcoming their first child, a daughter. They welcomed a son in 2020.

She tells Marie Claire that playdates as a celebrity parent are a “one-sided” experience. Especially now that The Dropout is on Hulu and has become super popular. Seyfried plays the role of Elizabeth Holmes, the disgraced former founder of Theranos.

“But then it’s like…getting to know the parents,” Seyfried says, mentioning that the parents of her children’s friends recognized her upon meeting from her brilliant work in The Dropout. “They have so much information about me. And I don’t know anything, which is good—it’s like the old days. It’s just so one-sided. I never have a TV show out. It’s changed things. People suddenly come up to me. My daughter’s like, ‘Everybody’s so friendly!’”

Perhaps not every parent can relate to the process of playdates as a celebrity mom, but most of us can probably agree that—whether we “love” it or not—childbirth can be pretty amazing.

Related Stories

News

Nicole Scherzinger fought to keep Moana’s mom alive—and calls out Disney’s missing moms

News

Chris Pratt and Katherine Schwarzenegger Pratt welcome a baby boy—and his name has a classic twist

News

Megan Fox is pregnant! How she and Machine Gun Kelly are embracing a new chapter after loss