Jessica Simpson, 38, is pregnant with her third child, Birdie—and the last few months have been a struggle. Now, Jessica reveals that she just spent a week in the hospital with bronchitis, the fourth time in two months. Damn.
The actress and singer posted a photo of herself to Instagram Sunday in a hoodie—and a surgical face mask. “After a week in the hospital for bronchitis (my fourth time in 2 months), I’m finally home!” Jessica wrote. “Coughing with Birdie has been a crazy painful journey. I am slowly getting healthier every day.”
Luckily, Jessica says her daughter is doing just fine: “Baby girl was monitored and is doing amazing! 🙏🏼 I am on my way to healthy and counting down the days to see her sweet smile,” she wrote. Jessica also added that she’s “sending love and prayers to all the mothers who are going or have gone through this. OUCH.”
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After a week in the hospital for bronchitis (my fourth time in 2 months), I’m finally home! Coughing with Birdie has been a crazy painful journey. I am slowly getting healthier every day. Baby girl was monitored and is doing amazing! 🙏🏼 I am on my way to healthy and counting down the days to see her sweet smile. Sending love and prayers to all the mothers who are going or have gone through this. OUCH
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Hold on, remind me what bronchitis is…and why it’s so painful during pregnancy.
Bronchitis is a condition that affects the airways that lead to the lungs (a.k.a., the bronchial tubes), according to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Those airways get inflamed—usually due to a viral infection like a cold or the flu—and cause some pretty hefty coughing and mucus.
And yeah, all that coughing can be really hard on a pregnant woman, says Lauren Streicher, MD, a clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Northwestern University. That’s because, well, there’s a growing baby in your abdominal area. According to the American Pregnancy Association, quick movements—like coughing, but also like laughing or standing up quickly—can stretch the ligaments that support the uterus, causing pain.
On top of that, there’s also the added fatigue (as if Jessica probably wasn’t tired enough) and dehydration that can come with bronchitis, says Dr. Streicher. Another possible issue: extra leakage. “Women with bronchitis are far more likely to be peeing in their pants than a woman who’s pregnant and does not have bronchitis,” says Dr. Streicher. So it’s not unusual for there to be some extra incontinence because of a chronic cough.
Most people with acute bronchitis recover in a few days or weeks without treatment (medication is required for chronic bronchitis, which is more common in smokers or those who have asthma or allergies).
More than anything, bronchitis during pregnancy is an uncomfortable situation and is unlikely to harm the baby, explains Dr. Streicher.
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