Hailey Bieber is getting candid about her postpartum experience, two years after welcoming son Jack Blues.
“After I had my son, I struggled with [PMDD] a bit, and there’s just not a lot of conversation or research around it,” Bieber, 29, said in a recent interview with Women’s Wear Daily.
Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD) is a chronic condition that causes severe emotional, behavioral and physical symptoms in the week or two before menstruation, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. The symptoms subside once the period begins.
For Bieber, speaking openly about her struggles has been a positive. “Conversation, for me personally, makes me feel less alone,” she said. “When we can identify with each other and have conversations relating to each other and talking about the things we’re dealing with and struggling with, I do think it makes it feel like less of a lonely journey.”
The Rhode founder also noted that being a mom has sparked a deeper interest in the overall subject of women’s health.
“There’s so much that happens when you are pregnant, during childbirth,” she said of her “intense and special journey” to welcoming her son. “There’s so many things that happen leading up to having a child.”
Hailey gave birth to Jack, her first baby with husband Justin Bieber, in August 2024.
Earlier this year, Hailey opened up about her PMDD diagnosis, which she received roughly six months after Jack was born. While she had experienced premenstrual syndrome in the past, she noticed a big difference after giving birth.
“I was like, ‘This just feels way more intense than before,’ like, the lead-up to getting your period,” she said on the “SHE MD” podcast in March. “You’re like, ‘Why does it feel like my whole entire life is gonna end? Like, I don’t understand.’ You just have all these swirling thoughts and feelings, and just everything feels like the biggest deal in the world.”
Hailey pointed out that her PMDD symptoms gradually improved over time, but this isn’t the first time she’s struggled with her health. In 2022, Hailey was hospitalized for a stroke, later revealing that she underwent a patent foramen ovale (PFO) closure procedure to close a hole in her heart.
“I was in and out of the hospital the same day,” Hailey recalled on a February episode of Jake Shane‘s “Therapuss” podcast, explaining that the “heart defect” was something she was born with. “That situation made me a little bit extra hyper-aware of my body and a little bit more nervous about things and staying on top of them. But I’ve just always been really focused and fascinated on health.”
