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Is Tiffany Chen OK? Robert De Niro's girlfriend details difficult time after birth of daughter Gia Virginia

Tiffany Chen was suffering from Bell's palsy, a neurological disorder that can produce sudden weakness or paralysis in the face

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Robert De Niro's girlfriend Tiffany Chen has spoken openly about her battle with postnatal Bell's palsy after the delivery of their daughter. The actor, 79, and his 45-year-old martial arts instructor partner, welcomed their three-month-old daughter Gia Virginia in April. The newborn is De Niro's seventh child.

Chen revealed to Gayle King in an interview broadcast on 'CBS Mornings' on Thursday, July 13 that she began to realize that her tongue felt unusual and "my face just felt weird" one day after leaving the hospital. "When I got home it was like everything was just starting to fall down on itself, like my face was melting," Chen stated.

Is Tiffany Chen OK?

Tiffany Chen called her doctor a week or so after giving birth when she realized she wasn't able to eat and was beginning to slur. As soon as she arrived at the hospital, Chen claimed she lost all facial movement. Her diagnosis, once it came in, was Bell's palsy, a neurological condition that can abruptly cause weakness or paralysis in the face.

Bell's palsy is two to four times more common during pregnancy, Yale Medicine OBGYN and maternal fetal medicine specialist Sarah Cross, MD, said in a statement to USA TODAY on Thursday. The condition "is most commonly seen in the third trimester and the first week postpartum," Cross said. "It is unclear why but maybe related to edema, hypercoagulability and/or immune suppression."

'She is lucky'

'CBS Mornings' tweeted Wednesday, July 12 about Chen's forthcoming visit. The whole conversation between Chen and King is scheduled to air on Friday, July 15. Meanwhile, netizens expressed their compassion. "She is lucky it didn't develop into Guillain Barré Syndrome which happens in pregnancy/ birth sometimes," a user tweeted. Another user shared their own experience with the condition and said, "I had this after the birth of my son in 2003. Couldn’t eat properly and had to use a straw to drink. Horrible time when it should have been a happy one. The doctors said it was possibly caused by the trauma of the emergency c section." Another tweet read, "Can we talk about how Gayles hair is LAID HUNTY but also this is crazy thanks for sharing your story I have never known this to happen to anyone personally. Hopefully she recovers." Another user speculated about the cause and claimed, "It’s typically the result of a viral infection, like Covid, which is spreading rampantly in hospitals nowadays."

De Niro made a birth announcement while promoting his movie 'About My Father' in May. 'The Intern' actor revealed the information at the time in an interview with ET Canada. His revelation followed the interviewer's statement, "I know you have six kids." Robert De Niro corrected her, saying, "Seven, actually." Then he said, "I just had a baby." Shortly after that, on CBS Mornings, host Gayle revealed the baby's name, Gia Virginia Chen-De Niro. De Niro has two children from his first marriage, Drena, 51, and Raphael, 46. Julian and Aaron, 27, are twins he shares with Toukie Smith. He also has Elliot, 25, and Helen Grace, 11, with Grace Hightower, whom he married in 1997 and divorced in 2018.