MANILA, Philippines — Alex Gonzaga revealed that she went through in vitro fertilization (IVF) to get pregnant again, but she did not get the result she was hoping for.
In her interview with her sister Toni Gonzaga on the latter's YouTube channel, Alex opened up about her pregnancy struggles through IVF.
Alex showed clips of the pregnancy kit that read she was pregnant. There were other kits that confirmed the good news. She was with her husband, Mikee Morada, in the clip.
"First punta namin, ano e, walang nakikita e. Tapos may nakitang mass, sa fallopian tube. Tapos nakikita ko hindi na maganda 'yung mga nangyayari," Alex recalled.
She said she heard the doctors talking about medical jargons that she could not understand. To her, that was the cue that something was wrong.
"So alam ko na may something wrong doon sa second pregnancy. Sabi nila, we have to wait. Ganon din nangyari sa amin sa first pregnancy namin. We have to wait another week to see baka naman it's slow," she said.
Alex shared her first miscarriage in October 2021.
Her sister Toni asked why she decided to do IVF.
Alex said she was inspired by former US First Lady Michelle Obama.
"Nag-decide akong mag-IVF kasi nakita ko si Michelle Obama. Basta nakita ko lang nu'ng sinabi niya na nagkaroon siya ng miscarriage tapos after 2 years, hindi sila makapag-conceive ni Barrack (former US President). So sabi niya, mag-IVF siya. So by 34, nag-conceive siya. Tapos by 36, nag-conceive siya. Through IVF pareho 'yung anak nila. Kasi nga, ayaw na niya mag-waste ng time," Alex explained.
"Kailangan ko nang madiliin ito with the help of science," she added. She revealed that she was "pressured to get" pregnant that was why she was in a rush to conceive.
Alex said she has newfound admiration for those who go through IVF.
"Makita 'yung hardship ng nanay through IVF. Daming pinagdaanan na hormonal imbalance. Bawal gawin para mabuo ka finally. Kaya grabe respect ko sa mga nanay na pinagdaanan niya. So 'yun 'yung nakakaiyak sa akin kasi gagawin ko uli 'yung another 12 sessions," she added.
She is thankful to her husband, Mikee, whom she said is very supportive and did not made her feel that she was at fault.
"Si Mikee pwede nang bigyan ng...kasi napakabait niyan. Sabi niya, 'Okay ako.' Sabi ko, 'Mikee, I'm sorry. Hindi na naman natuloy.' (He replies with) 'Hoy, ano ka ba, hindi mo kailangan mag-sorry. Dami pa nating embryo. Go lang,'" Alex said.
The couple got engaged in January 2020 and tied the knot in November 2021.
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