Gigi Hadid Reveals Home Birth Story and Says Zayn Malik Caught the Baby

Gigi Hadid and boyfriend Zayn Malik welcomed their first child, a baby girl named Khai in September 2020. While the supermodel has remained very private throughout her pregnancy and postpartum period, she recently opened up about her birth story—and revealed that Malik was actually the one to catch the baby.

Hadid, 25, delivered a week late and was in labor for 14 hours and chose to deliver her baby at home in Bucks County, PA rather than in a hospital in New York City as originally planned. The decision came after watching the 2008 documentary The Business of Being Born, which details various childbirth experiences, as well as with the realization that many family members wouldn’t be able to be present due to COVID-19.

“We both looked at each other and were like, I think that’s the call,” she told Vogue Magazine for their March 2021 cover story, referring to herself and Malik. For the home birth, Malik, her mom Yolanda Hadid, sister Bella Hadid and a midwife were all present.

Hadid had chosen a natural birth, and she told the outlet it was far from easy. “When you see someone do that, you look at them a bit differently. I probably looked crazy, actually. I was an animal woman,” she said, explaining that she even considered taking an epidural. “I had to dig deep. I knew it was going to be the craziest pain in my life, but you have to surrender to it and be like, ‘This is what it is.’ I loved that.”

“My midwife looked at me and was like, ‘You’re doing it. No one can help you. You’re past the point of the epidural anyway, so you’d be pushing exactly the same way in a hospital bed,’” Hadid shared.

Once baby was out, it was actually Malik who caught her. “It didn’t even click that she was out,” she said. “I was so exhausted, and I looked up and he’s holding her. It was so cute.”

The couple opted for the name Khai, which comes from the Arabic term for “the chosen one. “She was so bright right away,” Hadid told Vogue, sharing that baby’s heart rate had remained consistent throughout labor. “That’s what I wanted for her, a peaceful bringing to the world.”

Since becoming a mom, Hadid has been taking it relatively easy and spending time with Khai. She opted to take care of the baby alone, without a nanny or baby nurse. The shoot for the Vogue, conducted back in December, was actually the first time she had left her home since giving birth. Hadid is also trying to be kind to her postpartum self, recognizing that the shoot was done a mere 10 weeks after the birth.

“I know that I’m not as small as I was before, but I also am a very realistic thinker,” she told the outlet. “I straight up was like, ‘Yeah, I’ll shoot a Vogue cover, but I’m obviously not going to be a size 0,’ nor do I, at this point, feel like I need to be back to that.”