IVF stands for In Vitro Fertilization which is an ever-increasingly popular route to pregnancy for couples who have been unsuccessful in conceiving on their own. Couples typically see success rates of 20 to 35% but it's important to note that IVF professionals highly recommend that women complete three full cycles of IVF treatment which is easier said than done. IVF can be physically demanding, emotionally draining and it's expensive! However, when couples do commit to the recommended three full cycles of IVF treatment, this increases chances of a successful pregnancy to 45 to 53%.
With the cost for one cycle of IVF averaging $12,000, it's easy to see why everyday couples are hesitant to sign over their hard-earned paychecks for a 20 to 35% chance at becoming parents but when you're a star-studded celeb, these monetary things in life are a bit easier. Here are 10 celebs who have done IVF, as well as two celebs who have used IVF for controversial gender selection.
10 NIA VARDALOS & IAN GOMEZ
My Big Fat Wedding star Nia Vardalos and her ex-husband Ian Gomez dealt with fertility issues for nine long and painful years before turning to IVF, as they told People magazine. The couple went through 13 grueling IVF cycles before finally saying enough is enough. Vardalos and Gomez also suffered several miscarriages and tried surrogacy without success. As the actress told the publication, "It was a sad process for me to become a mom, and a long process. I felt so embarrassed that I couldn't have a biological child."
She and her husband became parents to their daughter Ilaria in 2008 thanks to the California foster system.. Vardalos is now an advocate for adoption.
9 COURTENEY COX & DAVID ARQUETTE
Friends star Courteney Cox and then-husband David Arquette tried very hard to conceive while Cox was starring on the hit sitcom. Her real-life drama actually was nearly in sync with her character Monica's baby problems. On the show, Monica and Chandler were having trouble conceiving as well. In real life, Cox had suffered several miscarriages before her doctors found out that she had a rare antibody in her blood that was preventing her babies from reaching full term.
Cox and Arquette turned to IVF and completed two cycles before Cox became pregnant with their only child, Coco.
8 CELINE DION & RENÉ ANGÉLIL
"My Heart Will Go On" singer Celine Dion and her late husband René Angélil have three children in common: first-born son René-Charles and twins Eddy and Nelson. The couple sought IVF seven times for help with conceiving all of their children including René-Charles who was born in 2001.
Dion was 33 years old and pregnant after just a single IVF cycle, but when the couple went back to expand their family, Dion was 42 and endured a miscarriage and back-to-back fertility treatments. Finally, she became pregnant with triplets but sadly, one of the fetuses passed away and Dion gave birth to Eddy and Nelson in 2010.
7 CHRISSY TEIGEN & JOHN LEGEND: USED IVF FOR GENDER SELECTION
John Legend and Chrissy Teigen were intent on making sure that their first child was a baby girl so they turned to technology with a little help from an elaborate and very expensive IVF procedure. Typically, clinics start charging around $4,000 for a "PGD" or "PGS" screening which is added to the overall IVF total bill. But the tricky part may come in finding a clinic that offers this service, which many consider to be controversial.
Many fans have called out the couple for choosing the sex of their children but Teigen has always steadfastly defended her decision via Instagram. Legend and Teigen seem perfectly happy with their eldest child, daughter Luna and baby son, Miles.
6 ELIZABETH BANKS & MAX HANDELMAN
Actress Elizabeth Banks and her husband Max Handelman sought the services of IVF in order to conceive their children who ultimately were born through the help of a gestational surrogate in 2011 and 2012. The surrogate was needed because Banks said that the embryos wouldn't "implant in her womb."
When her first son, Felix, was born, Banks told "Women's Health" magazine that she found strength to make the decision to go forward with surrogacy from hearing about other couples' experiences in surrogacy. After Felix was born, Banks and Handelman repeated the process and son Magnus was born via surrogate.
5 EMMA THOMPSON & GREG WISE
Late Night star Emma Thompson and her hubby Greg Wise turned to IVF for help with conception in 1999. It worked, and the overjoyed couple welcomed daughter Gaia Romilly but when the Oscar winner and her husband decided to give their darling little Gaia a brother or sister using IVF again, the treatments just didn't work. Thompson became incredibly depressed. She said that she had days where it was hard to get out of bed in the morning because of the IVF failure.
Finally, the family turned to adoption and welcomed a boy into the Thompson-Wise household! 16-year-old Tindyebwa Agaba Wise is a former Rwandan child soldier who had relocated to Britain. Now Gaia and Tindyebwa have completed Thompson and Wise's family unit.
4 BROOKE SHIELDS & CHRIS HENCHY
Down Came The Rain author and actress Brooke Shields famously opened up about her struggles with postpartum depression after giving birth to her first child, daughter Rowan Francis in 2003. Rowan's conception was no easy feat. Shields was 36 when she began IVF treatments.
She suffered a miscarriage and then failed several IVF cycles before she and her husband decided to try IVF just one last time. Luckily, the final attempt worked and Shields became pregnant with Rowan. For those seeking nitty-gritty details about IVF, Shields spills all ice chips in her book! Daughter Grier Hammond was conceived naturally in 2006.
3 DANIELLE LLOYD & - MICHAEL O'NEILL: USED IVF FOR GENDER SELECTION
The U.K.-based model and reality star has three sons from a previous marriage with football player ex Jamie O'Hara, whom she divorced in 2014. While Archie, Harry and little George are the loves of her life, Lloyd, in a new relationship now with 30-year-old electrician fiancé Michael O'Neill, has a lot on her plate.
Firstly, she and O'Neill have a new baby boy named Ronnie together. That's four young boys in one house! Secondly, she has received news that her son Harry may be on the Autism spectrum and is currently undergoing testing. That's a lot going on for a young family but Lloyd says that she's not done growing her family because she wants a girl! She insists that she and O'Neill will travel to Cyprus for IVF gender selection to make sure that their next child is a baby girl.
2 NICOLE KIDMAN & KEITH URBAN
Actress Nicole Kidman and country singer Keith Urban have two children together: daughters Sunday Rose, 10 and Faith Margaret, 8. Kidman has had many struggles with fertility such as suffering from an ectopic pregnancy, several miscarriages and she has turned to IVF for help. In an interview with Australia's Who magazine, Kidman said, "I've done all the stuff you can possibly do to try to get pregnant."
But amazingly, daughter Sunday was conceived naturally in 2008. Kidman rightfully calls her "the miracle in my life." A gestational carrier gave birth to the couple's second daughter, Faith in 2008. Kidman also shares daughter Isabella, 26, and son Conner, 24 who are adopted with her ex, Tom Cruise.
1 SARAH JESSICA PARKER & MATTHEW BRODERICK
Sex and the City star Sarah Jessica Parker and her husband Matthew Broderick of Ferris Bueller's Day Off fame have three beautiful children together. Parker gave birth to their oldest child, son James Wilkie in 2002. However, the couple's fraternal twin girls, Tabitha and Marion were conceived via IVF and born using a gestational surrogate in 2009. Parker gave an interview with Vogue about the birth of her daughters and said that meeting her twin daughters for the first time in the hospital room was a surreal experience and something that she couldn't have fully prepared herself for after knowing what the actual birthing process (with her son) is like.
She said, "Meeting your children rather than giving birth to them, it’s as if, um, it’s -- suspended animation."