"I've had eight or nine miscarriages": Gabrielle Union says as she opens up about her struggle with infertility
Actress Gabrielle Union is telling all in her new memoir. One of the things she reveals in the book is her struggle with infertility and failed IVF treatments.
The Being Mary Jane actress, who has been married to NBA star husband Dwyane Wade for three years, revealed in her new book that she's had about eight or nine miscarriages. Excerpts from the book titled We're Going to Need More Wine shows her heartbreaking struggle to have a much-longed-for baby.
Union, 44, writes in the book: "I have had eight or nine miscarriages. For three years, my body has been a prisoner of trying to get pregnant — I’ve either been about to go into an IVF cycle, in the middle of an IVF cycle, or coming out of an IVF cycle."
She writes that the hormones and procedures have left her with physical side effects, such as bloating, but that she remains committed to trying to conceive a baby. In spite of the struggles, Union writes that she and Wade "remain bursting with love and ready to do anything to meet the child we’ve both dreamed of."
At first, Gabrielle and Dwayne Wade never saw kids as part of the plan when they got married but after realizing how much joy she felt raising three boys with Wade, Gabrielle discovered she wanted a baby.
She tells People: "I never wanted kids. Then I became a stepmom, and there was no place I’d rather be than with them."
Gabrielle said she's constantly reminded of her struggle each time she’s asked by both family and strangers alike when she’s having kids.
She says: "For so many women, and not just women in the spotlight, people feel very entitled to know, ‘Do you want kids?' A lot of people, especially people that have fertility issues, just say ‘no’ because that’s a lot easier than being honest about whatever is actually going on. People mean so well, but they have no idea the harm or frustration it can cause.
"Once a month I look like I’m in my second trimester because I’m bloated. It leads to the questions and it leads to the rumors and anytime I go into a doctor’s office I feel like I’m a member of SEAL Team Six undercover because I don’t want people to speculate."
Gabrielle's book will be out on October 17. She hopes that the way people approach her about the topic of childbirth changes after the release of her book.
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