Jenna Bush Hager recalls ‘really hard’ ectopic pregnancy
Jenna Bush Hager says she “lost” a part of herself after going through a difficult ectopic pregnancy several years ago.
“As a woman, it was a really hard thing to go through,” the journalist admitted on Tuesday’s episode of “Today with Hoda & Jenna.”
The scary medical issue happened before Jenna and her husband, Henry Chase Hager, welcomed their first child together, daughter Mila, in 2013. They’re also parents to Poppy, 7, and Hal, 3.
During Tuesday’s show, Jenna, 41, went on to say that she started working out with trainer Amanda Bartolomeo following the ectopic pregnancy.
She said the CorePlay founder helped her regain her confidence – both physically and mentally.
“When I first met Amanda, we started talking about finding your core, and what that means metaphorically for women, and obviously, literally,” Jenna explained.
“We both realized we both had had ectopic pregnancies.”
Jenna told viewers that she hadn’t really “engaged” her core after going through “six or seven” stomach surgeries. That included the procedure to remove her ectopic pregnancy, as well as C-sections and an operation for appendicitis.
She emphasized that Bartolomeo really helped her get stronger and reclaim her own body.
“I think that’s the thing about women’s health, is that it’s not just about looking skinny or looking a certain way or fitting into your jeans,” Jenna explained.
“It’s about feeling healthy all the way around.”
An ectopic pregnancy occurs when a fertilized egg implants and grows outside the main cavity of the uterus, most often in a fallopian tube, according to the Mayo Clinic.
The fertilized egg cannot survive and the growing tissue can cause fatal bleeding if left untreated.
Jenna first detailed her ectopic pregnancy on her morning talk show back in 2019.
“It was my first pregnancy. I was so excited,” she said at the time. “I got to the doctor’s office and she said, ‘Yeah, you’re pregnant. We have the blood test [but] we can’t find the baby.’”
Jenna had to undergo emergency surgery to get her fallopian tube removed. At the time, she had never heard of an ectopic pregnancy and found the experience “isolating.”
“There is joy and there is pain,” she confessed.
