Meghan Trainor Details Her ‘Breaking Point’ After Having Her Second Baby

Singer Meghan Trainor is getting real about parenting a newborn and a toddler. In a personal essay for Today.com, The Four judge opened up about the moment she realized she needed medical intervention. The moment came while she was trying to soothe her newborn son, Barry, as her husband was putting their toddler Riley to bed. “I was alone with Barry and he would not stop crying and then I was crying. I was having a panic attack and I was just over-exhausted, but I felt like I was dying. I felt if I stood up, I would pass out. I didn’t feel safe holding the baby and at the same time I felt like my body was giving up on me,” she wrote.

When she asked her husband for help, he didn’t realize the severity. After phoning a number of friends and family, she spoke with her provider. “My doctor wrote me a prescription for a medication that would help me that night. I took it and I felt much better,” she added.

Her essay comes after the U.S. Surgeon General released an advisory noting that parents are in crisis. Trainor says she was not surprised, just from her own experience. She says parents, notably mothers, are exhausted due to over-extending themselves at work, home, and beyond. Rest comes secondary, or at times, last.

Trainor recalls being burnt out from trying to breastfeed, which is like a full time job for new moms. She also was diagnosed with PTSD due to having a c-section with Riley and him ending up in the NICU after. She replayed the surgery over in nightmares. 

“I get asked in every single interview, “You just do it all! You tour, you have your whole career, you have the perfect family, an amazing life, and you always seem happy. How do you do it?!” And I always answer: “Therapy, my antidepressants and my entire team,’” she notes.

Trainor suggests moms reach out for help to avoid what she experienced, or earlier intervention.