You Won’t Believe The Grey’s Anatomy Scene That Sent Sarah Drew Into Real Premature Labor!

 

Speaking on the HypochondriActor podcast, Grey’s Anatomy star Sarah Drew shared the shocking details of how performing a tragic birth scene on set unintentionally triggered her real-life premature labor a month early.

While filming Season 11 of the hit medical drama, Drew was eight months pregnant in real life while her character, Dr. April Kepner, was facing a devastating storyline. Describing the traumatic scene, Drew stated:

“I was playing a story where I was pregnant and my child in utero had a fatal disease that was causing it pain.”

“I had to do an induction termination and hold the baby while it died in my arms – and I had to shoot the delivery and death scene like when I was eight months pregnant.”

The actress explained that the physical mechanics she used to simulate labor on camera ultimately caused a real physiological reaction:

“I shot that scene. You see the pain in my face and it was done sort of stylized so I wasn’t coughing and pushing or whatever [but] I’m clenching in order to create what it looks like ‘my god, I feel like the baby’s coming.’”

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“And then I’m holding this little animatronic baby as it like, dies in my arms.”

Exactly 10 hours later, Drew unexpectedly went into premature labor.

Because the delivery happened a month ahead of schedule, her newborn daughter was rushed to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) with respiratory issues, where she spent 11 days. This sudden emergency left Drew battling intense maternal guilt:

“It’s all just like punching me in the face – like every single piece of it because I had I thought I had a whole other month.”

“And then there’s guilt because I chose to play the storyline. So then I’m just like, ‘Oh, I did this to my baby. I chose my career over the safety and well-being of my baby.’”

Though the experience was traumatic, Drew has since been able to forgive herself. Reflecting broadly on her sudden departure from the show a few seasons later and her time on Grey’s Anatomy, she shared:

“I’m a believer in things happening for a reason and finding beauty in the midst of grief. I don’t regret or begrudge anybody. I’m embracing it. I had a profound and incredible season of my life on Grey’s Anatomy.”