Elaine Welteroth on Motherhood, Midwifery, and Why Every Mother Deserves More

We sat down with Elaine Welteroth on set for our 2026 Changemakers campaign. ⁠⁠Founder of birthFUND, a nonprofit deploying direct grants to families and midwives to close the gap in birth equity across America, Elaine is reshaping what every mother gets to expect from her birthing experience.
 In this conversation, she opens up about the support she wished she'd had the first time around, the moment her midwife moved her to tears, and what it means to step into motherhood on your own terms.

What is your name and where would people know you from?

I'm Elaine Welteroth, and I wear many different hats, but you might know me from being the former Editor-in-Chief of Teen Vogue. I'm the author of a book called More Than Enough, and I was a judge on Project Runway for many seasons.

But my life's work has been becoming the founder of Birth Fund, which is a maternal health organization that my son inspired when I was pregnant with him and gave birth to him at home at nine pounds. He's my greatest accomplishment, truly.

You're also a mom of two - did anything feel different about motherhood the second time around?

These are two completely different souls that chose me. I feel so lucky that they chose me, and they are already teaching me so many things about myself, the world. They've introduced me to a new version of myself. The most patient version of myself, the most tender, soft version of myself that I literally did not know existed until I met them.

The second time felt really different in that he's just so different from the first - they're in so many ways opposites. My firstborn is like the most gregarious life of the party, outspoken, could make friends with a pole, could talk to anybody. The other one's skeptical of you. He will look at you like you owe him money until you really win him over. And I think they balance each other out so well, and they have become just like the best of friends every single day. It's amazing watching them bond and learning how to nurture them both individually for who they are. That's the coolest thing.

What would your message be to ambitious women preparing to step into motherhood?

The advice that I would give any ambitious, accomplished career woman who is entering her motherhood era is what my midwife told me when I was freaking out about it - babies bring blessings.

There's this idea that when you bring a baby into the world, you lose so much of yourself, you lose so much of your life, and you have to give up so much. And I just have never identified with the self-sacrificial version of motherhood. I don't think that that is aspirational. What I've learned is that we get to define what motherhood looks like and how it aligns with and expands our life. Having babies has expanded my life, my purpose, my work. I see the world completely differently. I have a new perspective on things. I have a deeper well of empathy.

Every child is my child, every mother is my girl, every family feels like part of my village. And as a result, I feel responsible for supporting them, protecting them, making sure that they have what they need when they go through pregnancy and birth and motherhood and this massive identity transition.

What do you wish someone had told you before becoming a mum?

Having a support system is everything. Coming through motherhood the first time not having the support system that I needed during pregnancy was debilitating, isolating, and really depressing in a way that I really wasn't prepared for.

For me, finding midwifery care was just such a transformational experience, and I found them at the very last minute. I didn't even think that I could be the kind of mom who does a home birth and does it unmedicated - that wasn't even on my radar. But finding midwives and feeling that sense of holistic support really changed what I realized I was capable of. It changed what I realized I could aspire to in birth and in motherhood - trusting my body, trusting my instincts, having a sense of peace and joy that replaced that paralyzing fear that I felt not only about birth but also about motherhood.

That mindset shift, that paradigm shift, completely changed my experience of new motherhood for the better, and I want that for other moms like me. I want that for moms who are scared of the pain of birth, and who feel really rocked by the identity shift.

It's so important to have the right support, and for me I found that in a midwife who provides more than just medical support - more than just support for your body, but support for your mind, for your heart, for your spirit. It really is a 360 transition, and you need support that is 360 and completely holistic.

Can you tell us about the moment you knew you'd found the right midwife?

The way that I knew that my midwife was the right care provider when I was pregnant with my son is - the first thing that she did when I went to see her, when he was in my belly, is she talked to him. She put her hands on my belly when he was inside, and I was having a hard time connecting with him or feeling him, and she immediately connected with him. She started talking to him, saying beautiful things to him, greeting him. And it just made me cry. It made me realize there's such a sacred thing happening inside my body, and that I am the custodian of a whole new soul.

I think it can be really hard when you don't feel that instant connection to your baby, or to motherhood, or you don't desire what seems to come with motherhood. But I think the antidote for that is remembering that you get to define what this experience can look like for yourself. You can ask for help. You can opt out of support that isn't actually supportive. You have to really remember that this is the most transformative experience of your life, and you get to be selfish about what you need and what support looks like. And when you own that, your whole experience changes for the better - that was certainly my experience of the transition into motherhood.

What are you hopeful about for the future of motherhood?

What I'm hopeful for is a world where mothers actually get the support that they need, and they have enough examples of what support can look like, so that they even know what to aspire to, so that they even know what to ask for, so that they even know how to advocate for themselves. I think we're in this revolution right now of motherhood - an awakening to what those things can be, and not only what those things are, but how we can advocate to get them for ourselves, and also for all the moms across the country.