Meghan Trainor says NICU nurses shamed her for taking antidepressants during pregnancy

Meghan Trainor has opened up about the mom-shaming experience she had while her newborn baby was in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

In a recent interview with Romper, the “All About That Bass” singer recalled how her son Riley spent time in the NICU, after Trainor had an emergency C-section, because he was struggling with waking up to feed. However, Trainor explained that some of the hospital nurses suggested Trainor was to blame because of her antidepressants.

“They kept asking me if I was on antidepressants during the pregnancy, and I was, but on the lowest dose possible, and all my doctors said it was safe and wouldn’t affect him,” she said.

“It was really f***ed up. They had no name for what was wrong. He just wouldn’t wake up,” she added. “They said, ‘It’s really up to Riley when he wants to wake up.’ I’d be like ‘Really? Can’t you just zap him and get him up?’”

Trainor – who was was diagnosed with depression, anxiety, and a panic disorder in 2021 – recently opened up about the time she experienced a panic attack on live television back in 2016.

“I’m not ashamed to say I’m on antidepressants. That medicine saved me, saved my life, saved my career. I’m back better than ever,” she said. “I’m in the best place of my life.”

Shortly after taking her son home, Trainor began to experience feelings of mom guilt once more, this time because she assumed she was working too much. When Riley switched from saying “mama” all the time to saying “dada”, Trainor believed it was her fault for being a working mother.

“I literally had a meltdown over it,” she said. “But you just take all the blame [when you’re a working mom]. Men don’t have that same feeling, and they’re shocked that we do.”

Meghan Trainor and husband Daryl Sabara were married in 2018 and welcomed their first child together, son Riley, in February 2021. Trainor also explained how the Spy Kids actor supported her throughout her pregnancy, including “literally [feeding] me, and [testing] my blood with me, and would get everything ready for me,” she said.

The “Lips Are Movin” singer recently opened up about her challenging birthing experience on the Not Skinny But Not Fat podcast, where she detailed her “traumatic” C-section delivery.

“I finally said, ‘Where is that cry?’ And they were like, ‘So, he’s not doing so good, so we’re going to bring him up to the NICU,” Trainor told podcast host Amanda Hirsch. “Then my husband was like, ‘Well can she see him?’ And they were like, ‘No we should really go.’”

“And then some nurse grabbed [Riley], showed him to me, I got my picture and they left.”

“That was traumatic,” she added.

Despite the harrowing experience, Trainor told Romper that she and her husband are already making plans for baby number two, three and four. “I would love twins,” she said, after revealing that she’s going to start trying for baby number two later this fall. “A two-for-one deal.”