Michelle Obama
In her book Becoming, Michelle Obama opened up about facing fertility problems when she was trying to get pregnant with husband Barack Obama. "I felt like I failed because I didn't know how common miscarriages were because we don't talk about them," Michelle said in an interview with Good Morning America. "We sit in our own pain, thinking that somehow we’re broken." The former first lady gave birth to Malia and Sasha in 1998 and 2001 respectively. "I think it's the worst thing that we do to each other as women, not share the truth about our bodies and how they work," she said.
Brooke Shields
Brooke Shields and husband Chris Henchy struggled with fertility problems, and after not being able to conceive with artificial insemination, Brooke underwent IVF when she was 36. After multiple failed attempts and a miscarriage, the actress told Fertility Today she was "about to call it quits." She decided to try one more time in 2002, and gave birth to daughter Rowan in May 2003.
Celine Dion
At 33, Celine Dion underwent IVF after being unable to conceive with her late husband René Angélil, who had a low sperm count. After one round of IVF, Celine gave birth to their first son, René-Charles, in 2001. The "Imperfections" singer underwent six more rounds of IVF to conceive again and suffered a miscarriage. In 2010, Celine gave birth to twin boys, Eddy and Nelson.
Sarah Jessica Parker
Sex and the City star Sarah Jessica Parker gave birth to her son James at 37, but when she tried for another, the actress had trouble conceiving. "We tried and tried and tried and tried to get pregnant; it just was not to be," she told Vogue. The couple decided to try surrogacy, and welcomed twins Marion and Tabitha. "We didn’t expect it. I think after a certain amount of time, you tend to hold your hopes at bay a bit so as not to be disappointed," she told Today. "One really would have been thrilling and we would’ve felt incredibly lucky."
Mariah Carey
The iconic Mariah Carey underwent IVF after experiencing fertility problems with then partner Nick Cannon. In addition to acupuncture, Mariah said she opted for IVF. "The main thing I did that was tough, was to go on progesterone like every month…and then when I was pregnant, I had to stay with the progesterone for 10 weeks," she told Barbara Walters in an interview. In 2011, Mariah gave birth to twins Moroccan and Monroe, age 8 today.
Kim Kardashian
In a campaign video for her shape wear brand Skims, Kim Kardashian opened up about her difficult child birth experiences with her first two children, North and Saint. While pregnant with North, Kim developed preeclampsia and placenta accerta, two serious pregnancy conditions that can be fatal. "After my daughter was born, I still continued to do the process of freezing my eggs," Kim said in the video. "I was able to get pregnant through that with my son Saint, and then I had two embryos left." She gave birth to Saint in 2015, but had to have "five different operations within a year and a half to fix the damage that all of that did on the inside." Kim and husband Kanye West opted for surrogacy for their younger children, Chicago and Psalm.
Nicole Kidman
Nicole Kidman and ex Tom Cruise adopted two kids, Connor and Isabella. But at age 41, Nicole and husband Keith Urban welcomed daughter Sunday Rose. Speaking to Australia's 60 Minutes, Nicole said she struggled to conceive another child, experiencing a miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy. "Anyone who's been in the place of wanting another child or wanting a child knows the disappointment, the pain and the loss that you go through trying," she said. "We were in a place of desperately wanting another child. I couldn't get pregnant." The couple turned to surrogacy for their daughter Faith Margaret, who was born in 2010.
Elizabeth Banks
Charlie's Angels star Elizabeth Banks is unable to carry due to infertility reasons (which she called her broken belly). She and husband Max Handelman used a surrogate for her two kids Felix and Magnus. "I definitely think I'm still judged for what I've done and that people don’t understand my choices, but I don’t feel I owe anybody any explanation," she told Porter magazine. Elizabeth said she was sharing her story to help out other women who are going through fertility issues. "If my story helps people feel less alone on their journey, then I’m grateful for that," she said.
Courtney Cox
Courtney Cox married former husband David Arquette in 1999, and the two attempted to conceive for two years with no luck. After several miscarriages, the Friends star learned she had a rare antibody disease known as antiphospholipid syndrome, where her cells attack the fetus. She could get pregnant, but the actress couldn't maintain her pregnancy. "I decided to do in vitro and I did that twice," she said, adding that it was hard to go to work on set at Friends and be funny. In 2004, Courtney gave birth to daughter Coco.
Gabrielle Union
In 2019, Gabrielle Union opened up about her journey with infertility after several rounds of IVF and multiple miscarriages. Gabrielle and husband Dwyane Wade opted for surrogacy. "I'm so glad I got over myself and my fear of what people would think of me if I did not carry my own child," the actress told Today. Gabrielle welcomed daughter Kaavia James in November 2018. "It's OK to bring your child into the world in a way that is not through your body. The world will not consider you a failure. Every route to parenthood is perfect, worthwhile and amazing."
Khloe Kardashian
Khloe Kardashian experienced fertility issues when she was attempting to conceive with former husband Lamar Odom. In 2013, Khloe told Redbook that she sought help from a doctor because her hormones were off. "I was taking hormone shots to stabilize them, and you have to take those shots consistently and they have to be done by a doctor." Though Khloe and Lamar broke separated, Khloe later conceived with on-and-off boyfriend Tristan Thompson, welcoming daughter True in 2018. "I do think my difficulty getting pregnant has helped a lot of women," she told Redbook.
Emma Thompson
Love Actually star Emma Thompson and husband Greg Wise struggled to conceive. The actress underwent IVF and conceived daughter Gaia in 1999. Emma attempted to conceive again and did IVF for three more years, but it was unsuccessful. Emma and Greg informally adopted a Rwandan refugee named Tindyebwa "Tiny" Agaba. "I couldn't have more children, and that was hard; but perhaps if I had [had more], I'd have missed out on this extra act of mothering that I've had with Tindy," she told The Guardian. "Because there was space in my life for him, and I don't think there would have been space if I'd had another young child around."
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