Karoline Leavitt's Pregnancy Sparks Fiery Debate Over Her Vanity Fair Lip Filler Photo

The day after Christmas, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced that she was pregnant with her second child (and true to form, praised Donald Trump while doing so). Her Instagram post confirmed that she is due in May. This announcement came just a week and a half after the unfiltered Vanity Fair photo was released that appeared to show Leavitt with lip filler injection marks. Per the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), "The safety of [dermal fillers] is unknown when used during pregnancy." 

We don't know the ins and outs of Leavitt's fertility journey (nor do we want to) or when she found out she was pregnant. Not everyone knows they're pregnant right away; common early pregnancy signs can be mistaken for something else. But our guess is that she knew when those Vanity Fair photos were taken; according to the article, the photo shoot took place on November 13, the day after the government shutdown ended.

We also don't know if Leavitt actually has lip fillers, though side-by-side photos seem to suggest that she does, nor can we pinpoint the date she may have had the procedure done. Plastic surgeon Dr. Anita Kulkarni believes that Leavitt has fillers, telling HuffPost, "The marks are likely from very recently injected lip filler, like the same day or the day before the photo shoot." She added, "The lips looks swollen and lumpy, which would be consistent with fresh lip filler."

Social media has its thoughts on Karoline Leavitt's pregnancy and possible lip filler use. Some on Instagram have posited that Leavitt's larger lips could be due to her being pregnant, since swelling is common. Other people pointed out that there aren't studies that confirm that lip fillers and the like are unsafe during pregnancy, so why are we worried about what Leavitt might be doing?

It is a complicated topic. Parent Data confirmed that when it comes to dermal fillers, "there isn't any reason to think these would be dangerous, but we simply do not know." And studies on whether or not cosmetic procedures have an impact on a pregnancy aren't considered ethical. Though even without studies, Time 4 U Med Spa noted: "Pregnancy changes your immune system, which could increase the likelihood of unusual reactions or complications. Swelling and bruising, already common side effects, could be amplified during pregnancy."

Others found it odd that lip filler for Leavitt while she was pregnant would be okay around the same time that the Trump administration suggested that women avoid Tylenol during pregnancy, claiming that it causes autism — despite there being no proven link between Tylenol use during pregnancy and autism. One person on X said, "So, cosmetic injectables are fine, but OTC pain relief is treated like a moral hazard." Others quipped that Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Donald Trump's controversial pick for head of the Department of Health and Human Services, told Leavitt it was OK to get injections while pregnant.