Erin Andrews is undergoing her seventh round of IVF: ‘It’s a ton of mental and physical anguish’
Erin Andrews is opening up about her IVF journey.
The sportscaster took to her blog to share that she is currently in her seventh round of IVF, which stands for in vitro fertilization, in hopes to become pregnant with her and her NHL player husband Jarret Stoll’s first child.
The former Dancing With the Stars host, who is now 43, wrote that she has been undergoing treatments since she was 35, writing that at 43, “my body is kind of stacked against me.”
“I have been trying to do IVF treatment for a while now, but sometimes it doesn't go the way you want it,” she wrote. “Your body just doesn't allow it. Every cycle is different in a woman's body, so some months are better than others. When I heard this was the best time to go through another treatment, I had to figure it out all over again. How am I going to juggle this treatment on top of my work schedule? I got so stressed out. When this happens, it really makes you question: is it the future of my family or is it my job?”
Andrews added that as a woman with a high-powered job, she’s felt the pressure to keep issues in her personal life private. However, she’s now opening up in order for those she works with to understand the accommodations she needs.
“The entire treatment takes such a mental and emotional toll on your body,” she wrote. “You feel like s***. You feel bloated and hormonal for a week and a half. You could go through this whole experience and get absolutely nothing out of it — that's the crazy part. It's a ton of money, it's a ton of time, it's a ton of mental and physical anguish," the sportscaster said. "And more times than not, they're unsuccessful. I think that's why a lot of people choose to be quiet about it. Because maybe we feel as if this is something we have to do, and we don't want to jinx it. On the other hand, we can also feel like we're a failure as females or to our partners.”
Despite the stigma, Andrews declared that those on IVF journeys are “warriors for going through all this.”
“The fertility clinic can sometimes be so full, it's heartbreaking, but we really aren't alone here,” she noted. “You never know who else is going through this; it could be another co-worker or the person making your coffee every day. There are more people than you think.”
Andrews has previously opened up about wanting to expand her family. Last year, in an interview with Page Six, she declared that she and Stoll want to add “babies” to their family.
In an interview with Bustle earlier this year, she also spoke about her parenting plans.
“My husband and I missed the whole social circle where people commiserate about their kids, homeschool, all that stuff,” she shared. “We’re going to have kids in the next couple of years, so maybe we’ll be in a different social scene.”
