James Van Der Beek and wife Kimberly welcome 6th child after 2 pregnancy losses
James Van Der Beek and his wife, Kimberly, just announced they have welcomed their sixth child, Jeremiah Van Der Beek.
The couple revealed the news on Monday by sharing photos and a video of their newborn with his five siblings.
In a Instagram post, which includes a video clip of his daughter Annabelle cradling the baby, Van Der Beek said the couple was "humbled and overjoyed" to reveal "the safe, happy arrival" of Jeremiah.
"After experiencing late-term #pregnancyloss twice in a row (both at 17+ weeks), we kept this one quiet," he explained in an Instagram post. "Truthfully, I was terrified when I found out."
He continued, "But we found a doctor here in Texas who diagnosed the last two as having been caused by an: 'incompetent cervix' (I asked him what kind of misogynistic old dude invented that term and he laughed -- which made me like him even more)," the "Dawson's Creek" veteran joked, noting that the condition is now known as a "weakened cervix."
The condition occurs "when weak cervical tissue causes or contributes to premature birth or the loss of an otherwise healthy pregnancy," according to the Mayo Clinic, and it "can be difficult to diagnose and treat."
Van Der Beek then said his wife had a procedure done for the condition.
"A simple surgical cerclage was done, removed at full-term, @vanderkimberly gave birth naturally on the ranch … and here we are," he wrote.
The Mayo Clinic says a cervical cerclage "refers to a variety of procedures that use sutures or synthetic tape to reinforce the cervix during pregnancy in women with a history of a short cervix."
In his post, the actor then reflected on something he took away from their family's previous experiences with pregnancy loss.
"Each child brings their own energy, their own manifestation of consciousness, their own lessons," he wrote. "The ones we lost each gifted us with different pieces of the puzzle…leaving us that much more grateful for the ongoing master class we get to enjoy with this sweet, wise little one."
In the past, Kimberly told her followers that her fall 2019 and June 2020 miscarriages were "so tough," and "one of them almost killed me."
