You might be surprised to learn that behind the glitz and the glamour, there are many stars facing infertility. While not all of them talk about their struggles, some have shared their infertility journeys with the world. From Chrissy Teigen (model, television personality, author, and entrepreneur) discussing her IVF treatment and struggles with pregnancy loss, to Nicole Kidman (American-Australian actress, producer and singer) revealing she welcomed a baby using surrogacy, more famous faces are opening up about infertility. Read on if you’d like to learn more about celebrities who used surrogacy to make parenthood possible and built a family.
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1. Kim Kardashian
Source: Glamour
The famous couple from Los Angeles, Kim Kardashian (media personality, socialite, model, businesswoman, producer, and actress) and Kayne West (rapper, record producer, fashion designer, and politician) have four beautiful children together, North, Saint, Chicago and Psalm. However, the journey to welcome their babies into the world wasn’t an easy one. Kim experienced complications during her second pregnancy with Saint.
One condition of concern for Kim was placenta accreta. “This condition occurs when the placenta grows too deeply into the walls of the uterus (womb). During childbirth, some or all the placenta remains attached, which can cause severe blood loss,” explains Leah Kaye MD, a reproductive endocrinologist from The Fertility Center of Las Vegas. Click here for more info.
To treat the condition, Kim underwent surgery to create a small hole in her uterus. While this treatment helped treat the placenta accreta, it made it more difficult to conceive again. As a result, Kim and Kayne turned to a gestational surrogate to welcome Chicago and Psalm.
2. Neil Patrick Harris
Source: NME
Neil Patrick Harris, actor, singer, comedian, writer, producer, and television host, is another one of the celebrities who used surrogacy to start and grow his family. Thanks to surrogacy, Neil and his husband David Burtkafa have their twins, daughter Harper and son Gideon. One child is biologically related to Neil and the other to David.
Like many same-sex male couples who want to become fathers, the couple turned to egg donation and gestational surrogacy. The couple knew the generous woman who would be their surrogate, but they selected an anonymous egg donor from an agency.
With help from their surrogate and egg donor, Neil and his husband grew their family by two. Today, their twins are 10 years old and thriving.
3. Jimmy Fallon
Source: Entertainment Weekly
Jimmy Fallon (comedian, actor, producer and television host) and his wife Nancy Juvonen struggled with infertility and failed IVF cycles for five years. The couple has been public about their journey and how emotionally and physically exhausting it was for them.
Even with these struggles, the couple decided they weren’t ready to give up on their dream of parenthood, so they started exploring surrogacy. Using IVF and surrogacy, Jimmy and Nancy welcomed their first daughter Winnie Rose, followed by a second daughter Frances about a year and a half later.
Jimmy and Nancy encourage hopeful parents to keep trying because eventually “you’ll end up with a family, and it’s so worth it.”
Dr. Kaye agreed with this advice by saying, “There are so many family-building options that our clinic can offer to our patients. By remaining hopeful and persistent, women and men with even the most difficult cases of infertility can have a baby one way or another.”
4. Gabrielle Union
Source: NBC News
Gabrielle Union (actress, voice artist, activist, and author) shared her fertility struggles in her book We’re Going to Need More Wine. She and her husband Dwayne Wade went through “eight or nine miscarriages.” She described her three-year IVF journey as making her feel like “a prisoner of trying to get pregnant.”
It turns out that the reason why Gabrielle and Dwayne were having trouble welcoming a baby was due to adenomyosis. This condition occurs when the tissue lining the uterus grows into the uterine walls, resulting an enlarged uterus, painful periods and infertility.
To get around the diagnosis of adenomyosis, the couple decided to use a surrogate to welcome a baby. Their efforts were successful because they are now the proud parents of a lovely daughter named Kaavia.
5. Sarah Jessica Parker
Source: Harper’s Bazaar Arabia
The famous Sarah Jessica Parker, who is known for her role as Carrie Bradshaw on the famous HBO television series “Sex and the City” from 1998 to 2004, is the last star on our list of celebrities who used surrogacy. She and her husband Matthew Broderick already had a son named James, but they knew their family wasn’t complete.
Female fertility tends to decline more rapidly after age 35. And because Sarah Jessica had her first child at age 37, it was more difficult to conceive a second time. After trying to conceive naturally, the couple eventually decided to rely on a surrogate to grow their family.
In 2009, Sarah Jessica and Matthew welcomed twin daughters named Marion and Tabitha with help from a surrogate. Sarah Jessica described the experience as “so different, and equally extraordinary” when compared to giving birth to her first child.
There are many everyday people and celebrities who used surrogacy
Famous faces aren’t the only ones who can start or grow their family with help from gestational surrogacy. More gay couples, single men and couples facing infertility are turning to surrogacy to become parents. Reaching out to a fertility clinic that has experience helping patients conceive using surrogacy can be a great place to start your journey to parenthood.
