He blocked my number and I haven’t heard from him since. That was seven months ago. I’ve been freelancing on production crews ever since, taking every job I can get, working as many hours as they’ll give me, trying to save money for when the baby comes. But every time I save anything, something happens.
My car breaks down and I need it to get to jobs. My rent goes up because my landlord knows I can’t afford to move. I get sick from the exhaustion and have to buy medicine at the drugstore because I can’t afford a doctor. And whatever I saved is gone. I’ve been trying so hard, but I haven’t been able to save anything.
I don’t have money for a crib or diapers or clothes for the baby or any of the things babies need. I don’t even have a pediatrician lined up. I was going to try to figure it out after the baby was born, but I don’t know how and I’m so scared and I don’t know what I’m going to do and” She was crying hard now and Taylor pulled her into a hug, feeling her own tears starting.
This woman was seven months pregnant, alone, working 16-hour days on her feet with no medical care and no support system, driven by pure desperation to try to prepare for a baby she had no resources to care for. “Listen to me very carefully.” Taylor said. “Everything is going to be okay. I’m going to make sure of it.
Right now, we’re going to get you to a hospital and make sure you and the baby are healthy. After that, we’re going to make sure you have everything you need, medical care, baby supplies, everything. You’re not alone anymore.” They arrived at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center 15 minutes later. Taylor walked in with Maria, her arm around her for support, and went directly to the registration desk.
“This is Maria Rodriguez. She’s seven months pregnant and she just collapsed from exhaustion. She needs to be seen immediately and I’ll be covering all costs.” The intake nurse looked up, recognized Taylor Swift, and her eyes went wide. “Miss Swift, we can” “Please.” Taylor said. “She needs help right now.” Within minutes, Maria was in a bed being examined by doctors.
Taylor stayed with her, holding her hand through the tests and examinations, blood draws, ultrasounds, blood pressure monitoring, fetal heart rate checks. The news was both reassuring and deeply alarming. The baby was okay for now, strong heartbeat at 145 beats per minute, good size for gestational age, measuring right on track at 30 weeks.
But Maria herself was in serious trouble. She was severely dehydrated. Her urine test showed she hadn’t been drinking nearly enough water while working those long physical hours. She was anemic. Her iron levels were dangerously low, meaning both she and the baby weren’t getting enough oxygen. Her blood pressure was elevated at 145 over 95, putting her at risk for preeclampsia, a potentially fatal pregnancy complication.
She’d lost weight instead of gaining it. She was actually 5 lb lighter than she should have been at this stage of pregnancy, meaning she hadn’t been eating enough to support both herself and a growing baby. And she showed obvious signs of physical exhaustion and malnutrition. Her skin was pale.
She had dark circles under her eyes. Her hands were shaking from low blood sugar. “You need bed rest.” The doctor told Maria. “At least a week, possibly more. Your body is under too much stress. If you keep working like this, you’re risking preterm labor and at seven months, that could mean serious complications for the baby.” “I can’t take a week off.
” Maria said, fresh panic in her voice. “I’ll lose my spot on the crew. I won’t get called back. I need to work as much as I can before” “You won’t be going back to that job.” Taylor said quietly. “Because you’re going to be working for me.” Maria stared at her. “What?” “I’m creating a position on my permanent team,” Taylor said, the idea forming as she spoke.
“Family wellness coordinator. Your job will be to work with my tour staff and production crews to make sure nobody is in the situation you’re in, working while pregnant or dealing with family health issues without support. You’ll help connect people with resources, make sure they have access to health care, coordinate family leave, things like that.
The salary is $85,000 a year, full health insurance, paid maternity leave, and you start immediately, which means your first assignment is to go on bed rest and take care of yourself and that baby while still getting paid.” Maria was crying again, but this time it was different. “You can’t just You don’t even know me. You can’t just give me a job and” “I can, and I am,” Taylor said.
“Because what I saw today is someone who’s working herself to death because she has no other choice, and that’s not right. Nobody should have to choose between their health and feeding themselves. Nobody should have to work through a high-risk pregnancy because they can’t afford not to. You’re clearly a hard worker.
You obviously care about doing a good job, and you deserve to have security and support, especially right now. So yes, you have a job, and yes, you’re going to take care of yourself, and yes, we’re going to make sure you have everything you need for this baby.” Over the next week, while Maria was on mandatory bed rest in a comfortable hotel room that Taylor paid for because Maria’s apartment was a fourth-floor walk-up with no elevator and the doctor said no stairs, Taylor had her assistant coordinate everything Maria and the baby would
need. A hospital social worker helped Maria enroll in a proper prenatal care program with a high-risk OB specialist. Taylor covered all the costs, the $8,000 emergency room bill from the collapse, the prenatal appointments at $300 each, the planned delivery costs estimated at $15,000 for a normal birth or $25,000 if a C-section was needed, all of it.
She had her personal shopper and assistant spend two full days shopping for and assembling a complete nursery setup. They bought a convertible crib that would transform into a toddler bed later, $600. A changing table with built-in storage, $400. A comfortable rocking chair for late-night feedings, $500.
A stroller rated as one of the safest available, $900. A top-rated car seat, $350. Clothes in newborn, 0 to 3 month, 3 to 6 month, and 6 to 12 month sizes, from basic onesies to tiny socks to warm sleepers, $2,000 worth. 8 month supply of diapers in multiple sizes, $800. Bottles and a sterilizer and formula, $400. Baby monitors, $200.
Soft blankets and a mobile and stuffed animals, $300. Baby bathtub and toiletries, $150. A breast pump in case Maria wanted to try nursing, $400. And dozens of other items that new parents need, but that Maria had no way to afford. The total came to over $20,000 in baby supplies alone, delivered to a storage unit and ready to be moved into Maria’s apartment when she was cleared to return home.
“This is too much,” Maria kept saying when the supplies arrived. “I can’t accept all of this. This must have cost a fortune. I can’t let you spend this much money on me.” “You’re not accepting it,” Taylor’s assistant explained patiently, going through the itemized list. “It’s part of your employment package.
