Gabrielle Union Opens Up About Her Struggle With Infertility, Miscarriages, and IVF

In her new book, Gabrielle Union is speaking out about her struggles with infertility and eight or nine miscarriages, People reports. In her upcoming memoir, We’re Going to Need More Wine, the 44-year-old actress details her attempts to get pregnant with 35-year-old NBA basketball player husband Dwyane Wade.

“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,” Union wrote in the book. She said that she initially did not think she wanted to be a mother, but after spending time with her stepchildren, decided that she wanted to try to start a family with Wade.

More: 7 Signs of Infertility You Didn’t Know About (But Should)

But Union is not ready to give up. Even after three years of hormone treatments and failed IVF cycles, she wrote that she and her husband “remain bursting with love and ready to do anything to meet the child we’ve both dreamed of.”

In addition to shining a light on miscarriage, Union is also speaking out about what the fertility treatments are doing to her body. “Once a month I look like I’m in my second trimester because I’m bloated,” she told People. “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.”

More: Trying to Conceive? The Important Test Your Gynecologist Isn’t Telling You About

Though very common, miscarriage remains stigmatized and not something people openly discuss, so Union’s coming forward and revealing that she has had eight or nine is a service to those who have also experienced the process.

The Mayo Clinic estimates that between 10 and 20 percent of known pregnancies end in miscarriage, but the actual number is likely much higher, given that so many miscarriages occur before people know they’re pregnant.

Union’s book—which she told People she hopes will change the way people approach her about these personal health topics—is out Oct. 17.

Originally posted on SheKnows.com