Baby Maxwell joins big sister Naomi, 4, after a pregnancy the CNN anchor described as challenging emotionally and physically.
By EEW Magazine Online Editors
Marcus Richardson cradles newborn son Maxwell Elias Richardson as his wife, CNN anchor Abby Phillip, leans on his shoulder and daughter Naomi, 4, reaches up to touch her baby brother. (Photo: Sary Nicole Photography)
CNN anchor Abby Phillip is a mother of two. The NewsNight host and her husband, Marcus Richardson, welcomed their son, Maxwell Elias Richardson, on Oct. 27. Phillip announced his arrival on Instagram on Tuesday, Election Day, with a photo of the family of four. “Welcome to the world Maxwell Elias Richardson! We’re overjoyed to welcome our sweet baby boy to our family,” she wrote.
“He was born on October 27th at home with the help of our wonderful midwife. He’s eating and sleeping like a champ and making himself right at home.”
The birth caps a pregnancy that Phillip, 37, chose to discuss openly. When she confirmed it to People magazine in May, she said the couple had conceived through in vitro fertilization.
Abby Phillip cradles newborn son Maxwell Elias Richardson as her husband, Marcus Richardson, and daughter Naomi, 4, reach in to touch him. (Photo: Sary Nicole Photography)
“Our journey to a second child looked a little different from our first,” she said. “Like so many families, we were able to conceive with the help of IVF. In this moment, I’m both grateful that we were successful in God’s perfect timing, and I’m also holding hope in my heart for all the families who are still waiting in their journey.”
Phillip was candid about the toll. She told People the process “was challenging to manage, both emotionally and physically,” and said the family had “arrived at a beautiful place.” In her Instagram post that month, she wrote about the strain of wanting something badly and still wanting it on your own schedule. She called the pregnancy an answer to her family’s prayers.
Abby Phillip cradles her sleeping newborn son, Maxwell Elias Richardson, as daughter Naomi, 4, smiles up at her baby brother and Marcus Richardson leans in. (Photo: Sary Nicole Photography)
Maxwell’s arrival at home follows the path Phillip took with daughter Naomi Angelina, now 4, who was born in 2021 on Aug. 16. In a CNN commentary about that first delivery, Phillip called herself “a huge believer in modern medicine and someone who takes no unnecessary risks with my health.” She wrote that she never expected to give birth at home. The midwife model won her over by offering care “centered around the full picture of my life and health.” She also wrote that her team quickly stopped a postpartum hemorrhage after Naomi was born.
The experience shaped her journalism. In December 2023, Phillip led “Homebirth Journey: Saving Black Moms,” a documentary hour for “The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper.” It examined why a growing number of Black women are choosing to give birth at home. The report earned her a News and Documentary Emmy nomination.
Abby Phillip at the anchor desk of CNN NewsNight with Abby Phillip, which she has hosted weeknights since October 2023. (Photo: CNN)
Phillip and Richardson married in May 2018. She has anchored through a pregnancy and a historic news cycle before.
Speaking to People in 2021, she said, “Working with the intensity that I did post-election while carrying a child was the hardest thing I’ve ever done.” She has hosted CNN NewsNight with Abby Phillip weeknights at 10 p.m. ET since October 2023.
When she announced this pregnancy in May, she said Naomi was “already preparing to be an excellent big sister.” As of this week, Naomi has the job.
