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Gabrielle Union’s Honest Take on Unsuccessful IVF Treatments, 8 Miscarriages Resonates with Women

Posted byBy Kiersten Willis | Published on: CommentsComments (0)
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Gabrielle Union has been coy about IVF in the past. (Dey Street Books)

The next time you see Gabrielle Union looking a little bloated, you may not want to speculate about her possible impending motherhood. The “Being Mary Jane” star is once again opening up about IVF treatment. But this time, she’s revealing she’s had several miscarriages in the last three years.

“I have had eight or nine miscarriages,” Union wrote in her memoir, “We’re Gonna Need More Wine,” in an excerpt obtained by People magazine. “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.”

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Gabrielle Union has been coy about IVF in the past. (Dey Street Books)

Union admitted she didn’t always want children. However, something changed after she wed Cleveland Cavaliers guard Dwyane Wade in 2014. She became a stepmother to his three children and helped raise his nephew. Then, she realized “there was no place I’d rather be than with them.”

“For so many women — and not just women in the spotlight — people feel very entitled to know, ‘Do you want kids?’” Union wrote. “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.”

Union knows that all too well as she has had to combat pregnancy rumors throughout her marriage. Last year, she took to Twitter to shut down such reports.

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“Once a month I look like I’m in my second trimester because I’m bloated,” she wrote in her book due Oct. 17. “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.”

While not everyone has the microscope on them that Union has, many women can relate to her experience.

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