Politics

Mayor Michelle Wu announces she’s pregnant with third child

Wu told The Boston Globe she'll welcome a baby girl in January after two previous miscarriages, which she publicly shared for the first time Monday.

By Molly Farrar

July 22, 2024

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Boston Mayor Michelle Wu is pregnant, she announced Monday evening, and is expecting to welcome her third child, a girl, in January.

Wu, 39, told The Boston Globe in an exclusive interview that she has had two miscarriages since having her younger son Cass, a fact she has never shared publicly. In a statement announcing her pregnancy, she said “it hasn’t been an easy journey.”

“The first two pregnancies were, relatively speaking, very easy and very smooth. Both kind of happened pretty quickly and right when we were hoping for them,” Wu told the Globe. “I feel so lucky now, especially that I know kind of what the alternative can be. … In some ways, because of that, it is both more exciting and also more nerve wracking.”

Wu, the first woman and woman of color to be elected mayor, has not publicly announced her reelection campaign for mayor but told the Globe she plans to run and will announce “when the time is right.” 

“There’s a lot of work to do, and if anything, this exciting news gives me even more motivation and determination that we have to show what’s possible in Boston at a time where our action is needed as an example far beyond our city,” she told the Globe.

Wu’s motherhood has long been part of her political identity. When she served as City Council president, she brought both Cass and his older brother Blaise to work with her as newborns, she wrote in a CNN opinion piece in 2017.

“Sometimes I’m the only one standing during a discussion, bouncing Cass to sleep. Often I reach for the nursing cover to breastfeed, whether I’m checking in with my staff or speaking before an audience. I always have a burp cloth nearby,” she wrote. “I’m tired but grateful: choosing to blend parenting and public service has made me a more confident mother and a better legislator.”

Her mayoral platform includes improving access to child care, advocating for parental leave, and tackling issues within Boston Public Schools. 

“I approach each day as a mom determined to create the best possible future for all of Boston’s families. And we have so much more work to do,” Wu said in the statement, which was shared by her election committee. “Thank you for doing it with us, and thank you for the love and support you continue to show my family and me.”