Sofia Richie Grainge, 26, has revealed that she gained 70 pounds during her pregnancy as she dealt with complications.
In May, the model welcomed her first child, daughter Eloise Samantha, with husband Elliot Grainge.
However, during a recent appearance on the She MD podcast, which is hosted by her own OBGYN, Dr. Thais Aliabadi, and women’s advocate Mary Alice Haney, Richie opened up about some of her struggles during pregnancy.
Not only did she share that she had experienced ‘terrifying’ contractions at just 32 weeks and postpartum preeclampsia, but she peeled back the curtain about another challenge she faced: weight gain.
‘I shockingly gained 70 pounds during my pregnancy,’ Richie said while on the podcast, with segments of it posted on TikTok.
Sofia Richie Grainge, 26, has revealed that she gained 70 pounds during her pregnancy as she dealt with complications
In May, the model welcomed her first child, daughter Eloise Samantha, with husband Elliot Grainge
‘I gained like an appropriate amount of weight my first and second trimester, and then the reason why we actually induced at 38 weeks was because I was having a bit of dodgy blood pressures, [and] I gained a lot of weight in my third trimester,’ the model continued.
She said that her doctor thought it was a ‘little weird,’ and that ‘something was not right,’ so she was induced.
It turns out that her medical team was right, as she was diagnosed with postpartum preeclampsia just days after giving birth.
But once she had things figured out medically, Richie explained that she was able to lose the weight quickly.
‘I lost 50 pounds within three and a half weeks,’ she said.
‘A lot of that was fluid retention, too,’ Dr. Aliabadi added.
Richie agreed, telling listeners that she didn’t think it was necessarily weight that she had gained, but a lot of fluid.
One of the most common symptoms of postpartum preeclampsia is swelling in your ‘face, hands, feet and limbs,’ according to the Cleveland Clinic.
‘I shockingly gained 70 pounds during my pregnancy,’ Richie said while on the podcast
But once she had things figured out medically, Richie explained that she was able to lose the weight quickly
The influencer ended up having to go back to the hospital to get herself taken care of, but admitted that leaving her newborn daughter was really difficult
Postpartum preeclampsia is extremely dangerous and it can even result in stroke, seizure or kidney damage if left untreated, per Columbia University Irving Medical Center.
‘When I was in the hospital, they put me on a magnesium drip for the preeclampsia, I lost 25 pounds in 48 hours in the hospital, just from the magnesium drip, and I could feel it coming off,’ she said.
While on the podcast, Richie also shared how she found out that she had postpartum preeclampsia.
The Solid & Striped designer said that when she came home from the hospital after giving birth, she ‘blew up like a balloon.’
‘Then, I went home, and I blew up like a balloon, quite literally just swelled,’ she revealed, explaining that she really was not feeling well.
Richie again texted her doctor, who she says was ‘on top if it,’ and sent over her nurse to check on her.
After some tests, Richie found out that her blood pressure was 165/103, which falls into the range of postpartum preeclampsia.
The influencer ended up having to go back to the hospital to get herself taken care of, but admitted that leaving her newborn daughter was really difficult.
After some tests, Richie found out that her blood pressure was 165/103, which falls into the range of postpartum preeclampsia
Though, thankfully, both Richie and her baby are now healthy, and she’s loving motherhood so far
Dr. Aliabadi explained that while preeclampsia can happen after 20 weeks, it can also happen for up to six weeks postpartum.
‘It can put you at risk for seizures, so it’s a very, very dangerous condition if you completely ignore it, you can have strokes from it,’ the doctor said.
Though, thankfully, both Richie and her baby are now healthy, and she’s loving motherhood so far.
During an August interview with The Wall Street Journal, she revealed that she has become a ‘scrapbook girl’ and likes to write down everything that Eloise is doing.
‘It’s really good for me mentally to journal. And I actually found out I’m a scrapbook girl,’ she told the outlet at the time.
‘I wrote everything down in a scrapbook for Eloise, just things I didn’t want to forget.’