Mandy Moore John Salangsang/Shutterstock
Making plans. Mandy Moore is preparing to welcome baby No. 2 later this year without any pain relief.
“My platelets are too low for an epidural,” the This Is Us alum, 38, told Today Parents in an interview published on Friday, July 29, as a result of her immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) diagnosis.
Moore’s autoimmune disorder, which is characterized by a decrease in the number of platelets in the blood, was also the reason she had an unmedicated delivery of eldest son August “Gus”, now 17 months.
“It was awful. But I can do it one more time. I can climb that mountain again,” Moore recalled to the outlet. “I wish medication was an option — just the idea of it being on the table is so nice. But we’ll just push forth like we did last time.”
The Princess Diaries actress announced last month that she and husband Taylor Goldsmith, who wed in 2018, are expecting their second child together.
“One incredibly seminal chapter of my life just ended and the next one, as a mother of two, is about to start … and are we ever so deeply grateful and excited,” Moore captioned a June 3 Instagram snap of Gus wearing a “big brother” shirt. “Baby Boy Goldsmith #2 coming this fall! Tour is gonna be slightly different than I expected but I can’t wait and Gus is gonna be the BEST big brother!!”
The Chasing Liberty star — who gave birth to Gus in February 2021 — initially planned to be on the road during her second pregnancy, singing songs off her In Real Life album. However, she later canceled the tour amid health concerns.
“It is with a heavy heart and much consideration that I have to let you all know that I am canceling my remaining show dates in 2022. It has been an honor and an absolute dream to return to the stage again this past month, performing for all of you,” Moore wrote in an emotional Instagram note later in June. “When we booked these shows, I wasn’t pregnant and although I truly thought I could power through, the way we are traveling (long hours on the bus and not getting proper rest) has caught up, taken its toll, and made it feel too challenging to proceed. I know that I have to put my family and my health (and the health of my baby) first and the best place for me to be right now is at home.”
The “Candy” songstress further opened up about her decision to postpone her concert tour — her first in 15 years — during a Today interview earlier this month.
“Gus would be standing up in his Pack N’ Play while the bus was shaking — and I was like, ‘No, no, no. We can’t do this anymore,’” she recalled. “I foolishly thought, ‘If I did it before, I can do it again.’ But every pregnancy is different. This time, I was caring for a toddler. I was walking around feeling like an absolute shell of myself. … I was scared I was going to adversely affect my [unborn] baby and his growth.”
