Selena Gomez's Choice To Avoid High-Risk Pregnancy Shows Us Another Way Of Prioritizing Motherhood

Selena Gomez has had her share of health issues. From being diagnosed with lupus in 2013, undergoing a kidney transplant and chemotherapy in 2017, to being diagnosed as bipolar in 2020, the actress has been relentlessly candid about her health struggles. Then in 2024, Gomez revealed that she won't be able to carry children.

"I haven't ever said this," Gomez told Vanity Fair for the October 2024 issue, of which she's on the cover. "But I unfortunately can't carry my own children. I have a lot of medical issues that would put my life and the baby's in jeopardy. That was something I had to grieve for a while." Gomez went on to explain that this isn't how she imagined things would be for her when it came to having a family, but said surrogacy and adoption are options for her. "I'm excited for what that journey will look like, but it'll look a little different. At the end of the day, I don't care. It'll be mine. It'll be my baby," Gomez told the magazine.

Regardless of her reasons, she's one of millions of people pursuing alternative methods for having children. What's so important about Gomez's statement and her attitude toward parenthood is she recognizes that being a parent doesn't look the same for everyone and that's okay. Gomez is also advocating for her own health, which can be daunting, but has become essential for women in the United States.

According to Centers for Disease Control, the US has the highest maternal mortality rate among developed countries, for a multitude of reasons. The country's healthcare system makes the pregnancy journey difficult, there's no mandated paid maternity leave, and the US, in general, is lacking when it comes to providers and support during and after pregnancy. There is also the factor of medical racism. According to a 2021 study, Black women in the United States are almost three times more likely to suffer from maternal mortality than white women, and are three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related issues. Additionally, a 2024 study published in the BMJ Quality & Safety periodical found that women and members of the BIPOC community are 20 to 30% more likely to be misdiagnosed than white men.

This can be extremely problematic for someone in Selena Gomez's shoes. While she may be able to carry, her body shouldn't, but there's no guarantee that every doctor will tell her this. Why? "Women simply aren't listened to as much as men," obstetrician-gynecologist Dr. Tania Esakoff told Cedar Sinai. "Their concerns are not taken as seriously ... if women present several complaints, doctors may think they're hypochondriacs and not address the individual issues. But within those concerns, there may be something serious that needs to be addressed." Because of this, some women actually stop sharing information with their doctors out of fear of not being heard.

For someone like Selena Gomez, adoption is definitely an option. According to the Adoption Network, more than a third of Americans have considered adopting a child. Although adoption may not seem very common, a 2019 survey by YouGov found that 25% of people in the United States know someone who's been adopted.

Adoptive parents come in all forms and don't always adopt due to infertility issues or, like Gomez, because they can't carry children. As the YouGov survey found, the majority of people who adopt, 65%, do so because they want to open their home to a child who needs a family. Only 24% adopt because of infertility or other things that stand in the way of either conception or carrying a pregnancy to term. For the 60% who have never considered adopting a child, the two reasons that stood in the way were finances and simply wanting to be child-free.

No matter how Gomez chooses to become a mother, the point is it's her choice. But in the meantime, she's started two very important conversations that we should all be having: women need to advocate for their health, and there's not one route to parenthood. Gomez is prioritizing motherhood by considering her and her future child's safety, and that's something we should commend.