How Gal Gadot's mother saved her life when doctors missed a critical warning sign

Miami Herald

19-03-2025

Gal Gadot is using a recent health scare as a wake-up call to pregnant mothers everywhere.
The 39-year-old 'Wonder Woman' actress, who turns 40 on April 30, gave birth to her fourth child — a daughter named Ori — in early 2024, but not without complications.
During a March 18 appearance on 'The Drew Barrymore Show,' Gadot recalled learning of a massive blood clot in her brain while she was eight months pregnant.
'It was my 4th baby. This time around I had massive headaches that completely put me down,' she explained to host and fellow actress Drew Barrymore, per People.
'I was in bed and I couldn't hear or see anything. I had a hot bottle on my head and was just like this [lays back] all day, 24 hours,' she added.
Despite going from one doctor to the next, Gadot remembers being told that she was likely dealing with a 'nasty migraine.'
But that wasn't a good enough prognosis for her mother, Irit Gadot, who gave her some life-saving advice.
'None of the doctors sent me to get an MRI, even if we asked for it before,' Gadot explained, noting that it was her mother who advised her to go through with the imaging.
'Went to get an MRI and we were rushed to the hospital. I had a major brain clot,' the 'Snow White' actress recalled.
Gadot says there's a good chance she wouldn't be here if she had gone through with a 'spontaneous delivery' due to the presence of three different clots in her head.
'It was the first time that I felt what it meant to be scared to death,' she continued. 'And again, had I known better, they could have just put me on blood thinners and done.'
Gadot then recalls undergoing emergency surgery to treat the blood clot before giving birth to her daughter two hours later.
She announced Ori's arrival in an Instagram post on March 6, 2024, but didn't elaborate on what made the pregnancy so difficult until Dec. 29 — when she revealed the blood clot for the first time.
'In one moment, my family and I were faced with how fragile life can be,' Gadot wrote in the Instagram caption at the time.
'It was a stark reminder of how quickly everything can change, and in the midst of a difficult year, all I wanted was to hold on and live,' she added.
In her conversation with Barrymore on March 18, Gadot said her decision to open up about the experience was due to a lack of awareness surrounding the complication.
She also gave her fans the same life-saving advice her mother gave her more than a year ago.
'Three out of 100,000 pregnant women will have a brain clot. But if you feel any symptoms just check yourself,' Gadot explained. 'MRI is very easy and there's no radiation or anything.'
According to Mayo Clinic, a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is 'a medical imaging technique that uses a magnetic field and computer-generated radio waves to create detailed images of the organs and tissues.'
'Always advocate for your health. Always. Listen to yourself, advocate for your heart. If anything, you just over-checked yourself, right? That's okay,' she advised.
Her daughter Ori, who turned one this year, joins the 'Red Notice' star's three other daughters — Alma, Maya and Daniella — whom she shares with husband Jaron Varsano.