‘Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’ Star Tatyana Ali Welcomes Baby No. 2

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air star Tatyana Ali and her husband, Dr. Vaughn Rasberry, welcomed their second child, a baby boy, in August. Ali waited until Oct. 2 to break the news and named their son Alejandro Vaughn Rasberry. The couple married in July 2016 and welcomed their first son, Edward Aszard Rasberry in September 2016.

“Vaughn and I are gushing with joy over the birth of our newest family member,” Ali told Essense last week. “Our sleepless nights are deliriously fun.”

Ali, 40, has not shared any photos of their new bundle of joy since he was born on Aug. 15. However, she did publish a heartfelt essay about her motherhood journey in Essense the same day she announced Alejandro’s birth. In her essay, Ali sought to change the perception of the causes behind the high black maternal mortality rate.

“Some Black women I’ve spoken with are now scared to get pregnant as if there is something broken in us,” Ali wrote. “Because our lives are so often framed in a ‘culture of poverty’ narrative, I fear that we have internalized the problem and made ourselves the cause when the truth is we are being treated unfairly, disrespectfully, at worst criminally, or not treated at all.”

Ali wrote that the “patriarchy” has kept birth a mystery.

“Start asking the mothers you know about their experiences,” she continued. “It’s stunning how little we share with one another. We are so used to questioning our intuition and the strength and beauty of our bodies, not just in appearance, but also in function. We internalize other peoples’ gestures and comments — even more so when those people are health care professionals. Now, I’m fairly used to being a Black woman in this world. I put on the necessary psychological armor when I leave my home. But who has time for all of that when they are in labor?”

Ali wrote that the delivery room during her first son’s birth “became a circus” and described the hectic behavior of everyone involved in that led to her needing an emergency c-section. As a “result of his harrowing birth,” Edward spent his first days in a newborn intensive care unit.

The experience inspired Ali to try something different for her second pregnancy. She decided to work with a black widwife.

“Historically, Black midwives did much more than catch babies,” Ali wrote. “They were highly valued members of their communities who provided prenatal, perinatal, and post-partum support and advocated for the families they served. Their work is often times intersectional and inclusive of the LGBTQ communities, in addition to parents with special needs who remain at risk of mishandling and neglect. In addition to providing exceptional care, midwives protect and advocate for their clients.”

Ali and Rasberry met on the dating site eHarmony in April 2015. Ali revealed she was expecting again in April with an Instagram post.

Ali is best known for her role as Ashley Banks on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. She also starred on The Young and the Restless, Key & Peele and Love That Girl!. Last year, she starred in the Hallmark movie Christmas Everlasting and Lifetime’s Jingle Belle.

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