

Teyonah Parris, Keyshia Ka’oir & More Share That They Are Expecting
Social media has redefined pregnancy announcements in a significant way. From over-the-top baby bump photos to emotional videos when couples find out they are expecting, pregnancy announcements have become an online phenomenon shared between people and their following.
And when it comes to celebrities, fans gobble up their pregnancy announcements and look forward to the social media posts that follow. The last few months saw many women in entertainment reveal that they were expecting. Here is a list of pregnancy announcements so far in 2022.
Teyonah Parris
Teyonah Parris revealed that she is pregnant with her first child. The Marvels actress made the announcement on Instagram in a photo with her husband James. “We're pregnant!! Whooooo chiiile!! I'm so excited to share that we have a baby on the way,” she wrote.
“There have been so many feelings since we've learned that our dream of becoming parents is finally a reality. My husband, James, and I have felt a mix of shock, lots of nerves, but most of all so much excitement! Seeing the word PREGNANT was such an amazing feeling! We are so blessed and so grateful.”
Keyshia Ka’oir
Ka’oir fitness owner Keyshia Ka’oir shared that she and husband Gucci Mane were expecting their second child together. The influencer shared a video of the “Lemonade” rapper’s reaction to finding out that they were having another baby, and it was priceless.
“Let’s Have Another Baby ICE Needs Somebody To Play With” 🤍 🤰 🤍, Keyshia wrote quoting Gucci’s song “Mrs. Davis.”
The couple already shares a one-year-old son and they both have kids from previous relationships.
Chrissy Teigen
After losing their baby a few years ago, Chrissy Teigen revealed that she and John Legend are pregnant again. The model shared the exciting news on social media.
“The last few years have been a blur of emotions to say the least, but joy has filled our home and hearts again. 1 billion shots later (in the leg lately, as u can see!) we have another on the way,” she wrote. “Every appointment I’ve said to myself, “ok if it’s healthy today I’ll announce” but then I breathe a sigh of relief to hear a heartbeat and decide I’m just too nervous still. I don’t think I’ll ever walk out of an appointment with more excitement than nerves but so far, everything is perfect and beautiful and I’m feeling hopeful and amazing. Ok phew it’s been very hard keeping this in for so long!”
Jhené Aiko
@jheneaiko ✨✨✨
In July, Jhené Aiko finally confirmed the rumors that she was expecting her first child with rapper Big Sean. Following the news, she began sharing images from a celestial-themed maternity photo shoot with the Detriot rapper as well as a song dedicated to their unborn child. Big Sean commented under the photo of them together, “Thankful For My family ♾🖤”
The “On the Way” singer already has a 13-year-old daughter whom she shares with O’Ryan.
Summer Walker
Summer Walker revealed in a June 25 Instagram Live video that she was pregnant with her second child. In the Live, she said, “People asking me if I'm pregnant: I am and you know I'm very, very, very, very, happy about it. I'm very, very excited because it's going to be different from how it was before. It's really peaceful, really happy, lots of help, lots of love.”
The “Body” artist is expecting her child with her boyfriend Larry. She also has a one-year-old daughter with producer London On Da Track.
Keke Wyatt
Powerhouse singer Keke Wyatt revealed in February that she and husband Zackariah were adding to their big, blended family. In June, she shared that she gave birth to their “miracle baby” after he was diagnosed with trisomy 13, a condition where a person is born with an extra chromosome and the likelihood of survival is very low.
“Most of you are familiar with the challenges I faced during this pregnancy. My husband & I made the decision not to accept the Medical Specialist’s suggestion to terminate our baby early despite the positive trisomy 13 test results,” Keke wrote. “We appreciate and thank God for all of the Dr’s in the medical field. However, I can’t stress enough to all mothers & couples, when the Dr gives you life changing information about your unborn child …. pray about it, use faith & follow your spirit before making ANY final decision. We believed the report of the Lord and after holding our beautiful healthy baby boy Ke’Zyah & looking into his eyes, I’m glad we did. 😍
Leona Lewis
In March, Leona Lewis shared that she was having a baby in the summer. And in August, the “Bleeding Love” singer revealed that she gave birth to a baby girl in July.
“And then there were three 💗Our little Carmel Allegra arrived 22.7.22,” the British artist wrote.
Rihanna
Who can forget the pregnancy announcement heard around the world? The Fenty mogul and A$AP Rocky confirmed the rumors that they were expecting with showstopping photos in January that debuted Rihanna’s baby bump.
The “Kiss It Better” singer reportedly delivered her baby in May but has since kept any traces of the baby under wraps.
Let’s make things inbox official! Sign up for the xoNecole newsletter for daily love, wellness, career, and exclusive content delivered straight to your inbox.
Featured image by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney
Black women are not a monolith. We all are deserving of healing and wholeness despite what we've been through, how much money we have in the bank, or what we look like. Most importantly, we are enough—even when we are not working, earning, or serving.
Welcome to Black Girl Whole, your space to find the wellness routine that aligns with you! This brand-new marketplace by xoNecole is a safe space for Black women to activate their healing, find the inspiration to rest, and receive reassurance that we are one small act away from finding our happiness.
Want to discover where you are on your wellness journey? You don't have to look far. In partnership with European Wax Center, we're bringing you a customized wellness quiz to help you up your wellness game. Answer our short series of questions to figure out which type of wellness lover you are, what you need to bring more balance into your life, and then go deeper by shopping products geared towards clearing your mind, healing your body, and soothing your spirit.
Ready to get whole? Take our quiz now!
Release Stress & Restore Harmony In Your Body With Shaking Meditation
When we reflect on our own path as women in light of the women who came before us, it’s easy to see that the loads we’ve carried haven’t always been the lightest. From everyday stresses to generational trauma with roots that are difficult to trace, one must ask where all that weight goes if we never release it.
The body holds the score for all the anxieties, worries, and unease that we’ve endured over time. Family and society often tell us to quiet our emotions, maintain a brave face, and keep our emotions bottled up within. But as we know, anything with too much pressure will eventually burst.
And while we are steadily discovering self-care methods like meditation to shed this emotional baggage, it may take a little more than sitting still in the quiet of our mind to let go of our deep-rooted tension. Fortunately, mindful movement could be an unexpected way for you to let go of worry and anxiety while building emotional resiliency, and such is the case with shaking meditation.
What Is Shaking Meditation?
Shaking meditation is a form of tension and trauma-releasing exercises or TRE that “assists the body in releasing deep muscular patterns of stress, tension, and trauma.” This series of exercises of muscular shaking and vibrating activates a natural reflex mechanism that releases muscular tension, thus calming down the nervous system and encouraging your body to return back to a state of balance.
“Shaking meditation can be powerful because it moves your body — and in Eastern medicine, we say that moves your chi,” says Jenelle Kim, DACM, L.Ac, a ninth-generation doctor of acupuncture and Chinese medicine and author of Myung Sung: The Korean Art of Living Meditation.
According to Dr. Kim, understanding chi helps us understand our bodies and how we're feeling mentally, physically, and spiritually. In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), chi is known to represent your life force; it is the energy that flows through you and everything, and in many cultures, plays an essential role in our health.
“We have chi that moves in our blood and throughout our entire body; connecting our organ systems, muscles, and joints,” she tells xoNecole. “It allows everything to function and to be nourished. We know blood travels throughout our body through our circulatory system, but chi also travels through our body — much in the same way — through the meridian system. If you picture chi as vital energy, it moves the blood.”
It’s important for our body’s chi to stay in flow. When we go about our daily life with stress, trauma, or even mental injuries, our energy becomes stagnant. But various movement practices like Qigong or shaking meditation encourage your chi to circulate through your body which activates the parasympathetic nervous system, which “is in charge of telling our brain and body to calm down, relax, ultimately, let go,” Dr. Kim says.
As Black women, there are times in life when it feels like we bear the weight of the world on our shoulders, with few spaces to go when we need to lighten the load. But as Dr. Kim explains, because women are “naturally yin beings,” we take on more because we can handle more. “According to the energies of nature that have been passed down for thousands of years, women are more complex. And what that almost always means is that we can think a lot more.” And while that speaks to the resiliency of our being, it can have a negative effect on our bodies when we store more than we release.
“If we don't have ways of releasing this, it will ultimately affect our lives physically, mentally, and spiritually. Then it passes on to our children, and that's where we get generational trauma,” she says.
Although shaking meditation may be a new and unfamiliar practice, it’s one that could prove to be beneficial to those who have experienced trauma on an individual and communal level. The movements are simple to follow and accessible, and in a matter of minutes, you’ll feel more calm and relaxed, while relieving any anxiety, frustration, and tension inside of you.
So if you’re ready to restore harmony within your body, here are the steps to perform shaking meditation on your own.
How To Incorporate Shaking Meditation Into Your Daily Routine:
Step 1: “Stand with your feet hip-width apart. You can do this while sitting or standing — depending on your comfort level. Make sure all of your joints are soft, so nothing's locked.
Step 2: “Begin raising onto your tiptoes and falling back onto your heels. Not so hard to where you're shocking your spine, but enough to just kind of wake up your body. Repeat three to five times, dropping down onto your heels.”
Step 3: “Next, start with your hands first and shake them. There’s no right or wrong way to do this. Shake them and go up to your arms, to your elbows, and then up to your shoulders. Now your whole arms should be moving.”
Step 4: “Then you can start your legs, repeating the same shaking movement. You then move your feet moving, go up through your core, and then shake everything out through your head.”
Let’s make things inbox official! Sign up for the xoNecole newsletter for daily love, wellness, career, and exclusive content delivered straight to your inbox.
Featured image by Wavebreakmedia/Getty Images