Infertility can strike anyone, even our favorite celebrities. Very recently, Anne Hathaway and Natalie Imbruglia took to Instagram to share the news of their pregnancies, and at the same time shed some light on their personal infertility struggles on the road to parenthood. For Natalie, it took the “help of IVF and a sperm donor” to make her dreams of becoming a mom come true, and at the age of 44.
They are not alone. To date, Anne and Natalie are only two among several celebrities who have chosen to break the silence about infertility, a topic that was once deemed taboo. Below are 8 celebrities that have also opened up about their infertility struggles and what they did to overcome them:
Chrissy Teigen
(Source: Instagram)
Power couple Chrissy Teigen and John Legend are the proud parents of toddlers Luna and Miles, but it was not all smooth sailing in the beginning.
“John and I… would have kids five, six years ago if it’d happened. But my gosh, it’s been a process!,” shared Teigen in now-defunct talk show FABLife.
In an interview with The Cut, Teigen revealed that it took several rounds of IVF treatments to achieve success. “You hear stories about IVF working the first try. But you’ll hear a lot more stories about when it takes a few times. Ours didn’t work the first time, and it was devastating,” said the Lip Sync Battle host.
Now a mother of two (both through IVF), Teigen still hopes to expand her family in the future, which is why she chose to have more eggs harvested and frozen.
Kim Kardashian-West
(Source: Instagram)
Kim and Kanye West welcomed their first daughter North last 2013, but the pregnancy was far from smooth. While pregnant with North, Kim was diagnosed with preeclampsia, which resulted in North being delivered 6 weeks earlier.
Immediately after giving birth to North, Kim developed placenta accreta, which required surgery to remove the placenta and scar tissue in Kim’s womb. Two years later, the Wests welcomed baby Saint, but again, the road to baby number 2 was very long and bumpy. Saint, now 3, was conceived through natural IVF.
Due to Kim’s previous fertility complications and high-risk pregnancies, doctors advised her against future pregnancies. This didn’t stop the reality star from having a 3rd and 4th child, only this time through surrogacy.
Jaime King
(Source: Instagram)
After being diagnosed with endometriosis and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), actress and model Jaime King knew that the chances of getting pregnant were very slim. Prior to her first successful pregnancy, King revealed on a (now-deleted) post on Instagram that she endured a “severe ectopic, 5 miscarriages, 5 rounds of IVF, 26 IUI, most with no outcome, 4 ½ years of trying to conceive, 26 hours of brutal labor, early delivery b/c of sudden preeclampsia…”
The fact that King finally conceived—naturally—after all that is nothing short of a miracle. The Hart of Dixie star welcomed James Knight on October 2013. Two years later and King became pregnant once again with second son Leo Thames.
Celine Dion
(Source: Instagram)
Canadian songstress Celine Dion, 51, is a mother of three with late husband René Angélil. All of her boys, Rene-Charles and twins Nelson and Eddy, were conceived through IVF. Dion’s first IVF treatment was an initial success, resulting in the birth of Rene-Charles at 33 years old. Her succeeding pregnancy for the twins, however, did not come as easy.
“For the twins I did IVF six times one after the other,” said Dion. Like Chrissy Teigen and other women before her, Dion had to endure several rounds of IVF, with one ending in a heartbreaking miscarriage. At the age of 42, Dion gave birth to fraternal twins via C-section.
Melody Chen
(Source: Instagram)
The road to motherhood of Singapore actress and DJ Melody Chen has been a source of inspiration and hope for many couples who struggle with infertility. After a long fertility battle lasting 9 years, one miscarriage in 2012 and a failed IVF treatment, Chen and husband Randall Tan happily announced the arrival of twins in November 2017.
Like Jaime King, Chen’s miracle babies were conceived naturally. However, her pregnancy was less than ideal, with Chen confined to bed rest at 20 weeks. She said, “Even though it was hectic and emotional, I am thankful that the challenges have made our little family stronger and even more fearless about life with each passing day.”
Gigi Lai
(Source: 8 DAYS)
Fertility problems can target anyone, regardless of how healthy and wealthy one is. Now parents of three beautiful girls, Hong Kong actress Gigi Lai and billionaire businessman husband Patrick Ma-Ting-kung struggled to conceive naturally. Two years after their high-profile wedding, the power couple conceived twin daughters Gianna and Patricia through IVF.
The couple again was blessed with another daughter Pegella in 2012, also through IVF.
Christine Fan
(Source: Instagram)
Better known to fans as FanFan, Taiwanese singer-songwriter Christine Fan published a book, entitled The Pandas Are Here, in which she detailed her struggles to have a baby with husband Blackie Chen. They then sought the help of a fertility specialist to conceive through IVF. On IVF, FanFan shared that ten days prior the actual procedure, she had to take daily injections for ovulation induction. While the process was not easy, the celebrity persevered.
The couple then went on to conceive and welcome twin boys Ryan and River on January 2015.
Liu Ling Ling
(Source: Young Parents)
Getai performer Liu Ling Ling stands as the beacon of hope for those who still want to have a baby or expand their families at 50 years old. At 50, the actress gave birth to baby Xiang Xiang, who was concepted through artificial insemination. Prior to success, Liu revealed that she had also undergone IVF in 2011, which, while initially successful, resulted in a miscarriage during the seventh week of gestation.
No regrets about giving birth at 50, according to Liu. “Right from the start, I knew it wasn’t going to be easy – from pregnancy to birth, or even thereafter, but I have not regretted it at all. Being a mother enriches your health, your well-being and mostly, your life”, she said.
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