Infertility is an incredibly difficult struggle that 1 in 8 couples face. Millions of people around the world experience fertility struggles, and yet, infertility can make people feel isolated, lonely, and left out. If you are going through infertility, you are absolutely not alone. There is a whole community out there going through this with you.
As more celebrities, public figures, and normal folks speak out about infertility, we’re grateful that fertility conversations are growing louder than ever. We gathered some of our favorite infertility quotes, insights and fertility stories below, in case you need a reminder that you are not alone.
Gabrielle Union’s struggle with infertility
“So far, it has not happened for us. There’s a certain amount of shame that is placed on women who have perhaps chosen a career over starting a family younger. The penance for being a career woman is barrenness. You feel like you’re wearing a scarlet letter. But there is so much hope; there are so many options.” – Gabrielle Union, Redbook
Alexandra Kimball on the “almosts” of infertility
“It’s not that motherhood is out of reach, it’s that it’s just out of reach. It’s not that motherhood didn’t happen, it’s that it almost did and, in fact, still could. The difference between the grief of infertility and other reasons for mourning – the loss of a spouse, for example – is in that promise of ‘just,’ in ‘almost,’ in ‘still could.” – Alexandra Kimball, The Seed: Infertility is a Feminist Issue
Chrissy Teigen on self blame and repeated IVF
“You hear stories about IVF working the first try. But you’ll hear a lot more stories about when it takes a few times. Ours didn’t work the first time, and it was devastating. You realize that a lot of it is luck, and you can’t blame things on yourself… You realize there’s no right way to do it, or right way to react.” – Chrissy Teigen, The Cut
Kristen Wiig on her infertility journey, motherhood and surrogacy
“As private as I am and as sacred as this all is, what helped me was reading about other women who went through it and talking to those who have gone through IVF and fertility stuff. It can be the most isolating experience. But I’m trying to find that space where I can keep my privacy and also be there for someone else who may be going through it. Now that I’m on the other side, I wouldn’t have had it any other way. I’ve always believed that things happen the way they’re supposed to happen, and this is how [our babies] were supposed to get here.” – Kristen Wiig, InStyle
Anne Hathaway’s pregnancy journey
“For everyone going through infertility and conception hell, please know it was not a straight line to either of my pregnancies. Sending you extra love.” – Anne Hathaway, Instagram
Rekha Ramcharan on infertility and starting over
“What if infertility isn’t a war but an awakening? What if it’s not about death but about a renaissance?” – Rekha Ramcharan, Manifesting Motherness: Healing from Infertility
Kim Kardashian on infertility and surrogacy
“I didn’t know that I was going to be so open [with my fertility challenges]. But meeting people at my fertility doctor’s office who are going through the same things I’m going through, I thought, ‘Why not share my story?’ It’s been really emotional.” – Kim Kardashian, Glamour
Jordana Brewster on surrogate motherhood and openness
“I didn’t know anyone else who needed gestational surrogacy, and then later on I found out that there were people around me who did, but just didn’t talk about it.” – Jordana Brewster, E! News
Asha Still on the importance of sharing about infertility struggles
“I really wish that I had heard those stories 10 years ago, because it really would have helped me. Because I felt so isolated when I was trying to have a baby and when I was trying to help my fertility chances and I felt like there was something wrong with me.” – Asha Still, E! News
Camille Guaty on pursuing egg donation after her fertility struggle
“I could not wrap my brain around using another woman’s egg in my body. That felt so foreign to me. It made me feel, actually, more broken… But I realized I was going to nurture this child and he will be his own person. And I get to be a part of bringing on his best self. And that to me was really important.” – Camille Guaty, Babe by Hatch
Soraya Chemaly on the pain of infertility
“Women often endure infertility, pregnancy, infant loss, miscarriages, and stillbirths in isolation, because while sadness is a socially palatable response to these often life-altering events, rage, frustration, jealousy, and guilt are not.” – Soraya Chemaly, Rage Becomes Her: The Power of Women’s Anger
Gabrielle Union on miscarriage and IVF
“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.” – Gabrielle Union, We’re Going to Need More Wine
Alexandra Kimball on infertility, miscarriage and grief
“They don’t get the particular nature of this grief, how it’s less about the loss of a potential child than it is about the endless possibility that there may yet be an actual child.” – Alexandra Kimball, The Seed: Infertility is a Feminist Issue
Hugh Jackman on the uncertainty of pregnancy after infertility
“While you’re going through IVF and get pregnant, every day [the feeling is], We’re still holding! We’re still holding…! You know how precarious it is and how much she’s been through to get there… It’s really difficult — and much harder for the woman.” – Hugh Jackman, People
Peggy Orenstein on infertility diagnoses
“It is one thing, I was discovering, to think, “Maybe I won’t have kids,” and quite another to be told, “Maybe you can’t.” This is how impatience turns to desperation.” – Peggy Orenstein, Waiting for Daisy
Michelle Obama on miscarriage and feeling broken
“I felt like I failed, because I didn’t know how common miscarriages were because we don’t talk about them. We sit in our own pain, thinking that somehow we’re broken. So, that’s one of the reasons why I think it’s important to talk to young mothers about the fact that miscarriages happen, and the biological clock is real.” – Michelle Obama, ABC News
Courtney Cox on transparency through fertility struggles
“I just think it’s important to get things out there so people can realize they’re not alone.” – Courtney Cox, People
Jenny* on getting through infertility
“Communicate with your spouse and when you hit rock bottom cry and invest in a punching bag. Miracles take many different forms but I can promise you that if you keep the hope it will happen. I can also promise that I will never stop bringing awareness to this issue.” – Jenny*, RobinBirkin.com
Sara* on infertility and strength
“I learned that this required strength I never thought I had. Women going through this journey, in one form or another, are the strongest people I know.” – Sara, RobinBirkin.com
