Whitney Port is sharing the next step in her fertility journey. The Hills alum and her husband Tim Rosenman have decided to try IVF to conceive another child. The duo share a son Sonny, 6, and have been hopeful about expanding their family for the past several years.
Here’s where the former reality TV is in the process.
Whitney revealed how she faced “the unknown”
The City alum gave an exclusive interview with People on the “long and trying” matter, including the use of a surrogate.
“Sonny will be 7 in July, and I had my first miscarriage when he was 2 years old,” she explained. “But basically, the first time, I was someone who got pregnant very easily. Then, the second time around, we’ve just struggled. There’s been miscarriage after miscarriage.”
The couple’s next step was to go to a fertility specialist. Whitney wanted to “just to check out what was going on. At that moment, I realized it wasn’t best for me to carry, nor could I, physically.”
Whitney’s best option at that point was to try surrogacy. Sadly, the surrogate lost the following two pregnancies. Now, Whit is going back to the drawing board. She’s decided to undergo IVF.
“I’ve never really shared that. I’ve talked about it on my podcast and I’ve shared little tidbits, but this really like follows me going into the doctor’s office and uncovering and facing the unknown and the fears of what might not work and what can be so overwhelming on this journey,” The Hills alum revealed.
Whitney continued, “At the moment, after two miscarriages with the surrogate and multiple miscarriages on my end, I’m at a place now where I’m starting to think about possibly carrying again. I’m undergoing a lot of different tests to see if I even can. Right now, it’s going through and uncovering what it is that we want because it has been such a long process and I don’t want my happiness and everything that I have to be overshadowed by this.”
Whitney finds solace in being on her “own timeline”
The podcast host uses her platform to speak on the matter because she thinks “it’s something that can be so isolating.”
“So many women go through it and each experience is so unique and a lot of women feel like they don’t really have the space to to talk about it. So, for me, filming this and sharing this felt very liberating,” Whitney told the publication.
However, Whitney is working on keeping her attitude positive and present to all the blessings in her life.
“I’m the roots, the foundation of this family. I think it took me a little bit of time to figure out what that looked like and I think for me, now, it’s really about doing things I find purpose in and just being present in the moment, whether I’m at work or with Sonny or my husband,” she explained. “I’m really trying to live in my moments and not be so connected to my phone or social media. I’ve really just tried to be on my own timeline and do things at my own pace, and that’s been really liberating for me as well.”
However, there is an option to potentially allow Whitney to carry a pregnancy.
“I talked about this a little on my podcast. I would have to have a procedure now to get my uterus corrected in order to carry again,” she revealed. “So that’s just like a new little wrench in the whole situation. Right now just in the discovery process, which is something I also urge people [to consider].”
Whitney “feels this pressure to have a decision” and share it with her audience
The constant scrutiny is a challenge for Whitney, who is certainly well-versed in living her life in the public eye.
She added, “A lot of people are like, ‘What are you doing? Where are you at? What’s your next step?’ I feel this pressure to have a decision. I was talking to my therapist the other day and I was like, ‘I feel like I’m procrastinating this but I’m so overwhelmed with all this information.'”
The medical reality of the situation means that there isn’t unlimited time to consider options, and conceiving “can feel like a part-time job.” Whitney admitted it makes it “really hard to allow ourselves time to make decisions.”
“It’s the whole thing, not just the logistical work and the conversations, but all the emotions and the shame as well. It’s so important from day one to be your biggest advocate and not feel to small to be taking up time with questions and make sure you’re comfortable,” she shared.
Finally, Whitney credited having a supportive husband and admitted she couldn’t imagine having “done this without him.”
“It makes me think how unbelievable people are who do it on their own. It’s a lot. We have to release a lot of control and that comes with having a lot of radical acceptance and you kind of have to work on that going into it,” she concluded.
TELL US – WHAT WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT WOULD YOU GIVE WHITNEY? DID YOU HAVE ANY STRONG REACTION TO HER COMMENTS?
