Gabrielle Union revealed that she saw multiple doctors while trying to get pregnant before one finally diagnosed her issues correctly.
The 47-year-old actress delved into her history trying to get pregnant on a new episode of actress Katie Lowes’ podcast Katie’s Crib that was released Thursday.
The Bring It On star even raised the possibility that doctors might have ignored her fertility issues to scam her into paying for services that were doomed to fail, though she and her husband Dwyane Wade, 38, were able to welcome their daughter Kaavia via a surrogate.
Overlooked: Gabriel Union, 47, revealed Thursday on the Katie’s Crib podcast that multiple doctors missed a medical condition affecting her fertility; pictured with Dwyane Wade and daughter Kaavia in July 2019
‘I went undiagnosed through multiple rounds of IVF with different leading doctors in the field around the country,’ Gabriel recounted. ‘Not until the last doctor, Dr. Kelly Baek in California. That first ultrasound, she was like, “Oh, so, you have adenomyosis.”‘
Despite Dr. Baek saying the condition was ‘really pronounced,’ multiple doctors she had already seen had failed to point it out.
‘”I don’t know why no one would’ve noticed this,”‘ Gabrielle recalled her doctor saying.
‘I would’ve never probably known had I not been on this fertility journey,’ she added.
About time: ‘I went undiagnosed through multiple rounds of IVF with different leading doctors in the field around the country,’ Gabriel said, before Dr. Kelly Baek diagnosed her with adenomyosis; shown in February
Adenomyosis is a condition in which the endometrium (the lining of the uterus) begins to push through the muscle walls of the uterus, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Suffers can have painful cramps and lower abdominal pressure, especially leading up to their periods, which tend to be heavy, though the condition isn’t considered life threatening.
People with adenomyosis tend to have fertility issues, though many also suffer from endometriosis, which complicates the association.
Gabrielle’s chats with Dr. Baek confirmed her fears that years of complaints about heavy periods were ignored signs of her medical condition.
‘When Dr. Baek started asking me more questions going back to my periods and what my experience was like with my periods as a younger woman, I explained that I ended up getting on the pill not for birth control reasons, but because my periods were lasting like a third of the month and I was bleeding like I had been shot in the vagina,’ she said.
Pregnancy barrier: Adenomyosis causes the endometrium to push through the muscle walls of the uterus and causes painful cramps, heavy periods and can affect fertility
Fear: The LA’s Finest actress feared some fertility clinic doctors might have chosen not to mention the condition in hopes of scamming her or others into useless treatments
The LA’s Finest actress also feared that some fertility clinic doctors might have chosen not to mention the condition in order to cheat the patients, as adenomyosis ‘affects your ovarian reserve.’
‘If you’re going in and no one’s diagnosing you correctly… A lot of places will offer older women or women who have these conditions that have been diagnosed rounds to basically bundle… so you might do… three rounds for this price because you’re not going to get a ton of eggs,’ she explained. ‘But, no one’s super clear or honest because that affects your business.’
Gabrielle knew she could trust her doctor after she was open with her about the potential side effects and dangers of treatments for her fertility issues.
New route: Gabrielle’s doctor warned her the only medication treatment could cause brittle bones and only had a 30 percent success rate, so she opted for a surrogate birth
‘She just [was] honest for the first time that my road will be extremely challenging and the only way that I would be able to physically carry my baby myself is if I use this drug called Lupron,’ the former America’s Got Talent judge said, explaining that the drug carried a risk of causing brittle bones.
‘I live an active lifestyle. The roles I’m playing are very active and it only gives you, I think it’s like a 30 percent chance,’ she said. ‘Do I run the risk of causing greater harm to my body for a 30 percent chance?’
Although she credited her doctor with being the first person to give her straight talk on her likelihood of getting pregnant, she admitted that she thought going the surrogacy route would be admitting failure.
Calming presence: Ultimately, Dwyane was able to persuade her to give surrogacy a try and to skip the medication
Ultimately, Dwyane was able to persuade her to give surrogacy a try and to skip the medication.
‘My husband was like, “Babe, I want you,”‘ she recalled him saying. ‘”I want you as much as you want this baby. I want you. Let’s pump the brakes and think about this and make a family decision.”‘
Despite her initial fears, Gabrielle doesn’t seem to have looked back at all since welcoming little Kaavia, who’s now 21 months old.
Growing family: Despite her initial fears, Gabrielle doesn’t seem to have looked back at all since welcoming little Kaavia, who’s now 21 months old