Emily Maynard reveals she had Bell’s palsy during pregnancy

Emily Maynard recapped her 2020 ups and downs in her Instagram story and revealed that she had Bell’s palsy when she was pregnant with her fifth child, Magnolia Belle.

The 34-year-old former Bachelorette star shared a photo of her lying down and wearing a mask over one eye in September 2020, a month before welcoming her daughter.

“I took Bells Paralysis and had to wear a patch,” Maynard wrote in the photo, which she shared publicly for the first time on New Year’s Day.

Symptoms of Bell’s palsy include muscle weakness, salivation, spasms, paralysis and dropping of the eyelid or corner of the mouth, according to the Mayo Clinic. The condition usually occurs quickly and is triggered when a nerve in the face becomes swollen or inflamed.

Maynard said he already had Bell’s palsy in high school. The condition can occur at any age and, for most people, is temporary.

“I had it in high school and, luckily for me, I’m one of the few people who can do it twice,” she wrote in her Instagram story. “It started with a severe headache that got progressively worse and entered my jaw. I thought it was an ear infection, but I woke up one morning and couldn’t spit my toothpaste or put on mascara. I knew exactly what it was, so doctor he prescribed a steroid for me. “

Maynard said he was not sure what caused Bell’s palsy, but that he “got worse before he got better”. Every morning, she said she woke up and “ran to the mirror to see if I could blink or whistle.”

“I thought that at 34 I was free from the vanity that I valued so much at 20, but there is something very humiliating about being 9 months pregnant and not being able to move half your face!” she said. “I cried a lot and felt terrible, but fortunately it was getting better every day.”