Mariah Carey’s IVF resulted in the successful conception of twins—a boy and a girl—but it was not without its complications.
The pop star was heading towards the age of 40 when she became determined to start a family with her husband, Nick Cannon.
However, the journey to a successful pregnancy was not quite as easy as she had envisaged. What drove Mariah Carey to IVF treatment and which adjuvant therapy finally helped her conceive?
Mariah Carey’s miscarriage
Mariah got pregnant naturally at first but unfortunately, the pregnancy ended in miscarriage. Shortly after their wedding in 2008, and just before the Christmas holidays, they found out about this devastating news during an ultrasound.
Talking in an exclusive interview with Billy Bush for Access Hollywood, Nick said that “It was emotional for both of us and that’s when I saw the strength.
“She handled it so well and then to get on the plane and have to spend Christmas with friends and family, it definitely brought us closer together. It strengthened our relationship so much … she handled it so well.”
While Mariah recalled that “it kind of shook us both and took us into a place that was really dark and difficult. When that happened… I wasn’t able to even talk to anybody about it. That was not easy.”
Mariah and Nick both agreed that this experience made them a much stronger couple and made them more determined than ever to start their family together.
Did Mariah Carey get IVF treatment?
Born in 1970, as Mariah was approaching 40, when the couple tried desperately to conceive. Fertility starts to decline with age, with women over 35 years of age often taking longer to conceive and being more likely to have fertility problems.
Following their miscarriage, the couple struggled to conceive again and enlisted the help of a fertility clinic. Being such a high-profile celebrity, Mariah’s visits to her fertility clinic were well documented by the press, with many rumours and speculations.
Mariah and Nick underwent IVF treatment to help them to conceive for a second time.
How did acupuncture help Mariah Carey’s IVF?
The pop-star discussed the lifestyle changes she made to maximise her chances of IVF success.
On advice from fellow singer Celine Dion, who had her own struggles with infertility, Mariah Carey enrolled for daily acupuncture sessions alongside her IVF, in order to reduce her stress levels.
The ‘Hero’ singer told Access Hollywood, “Celine was talking about acupuncture. I used to get acupuncture, and I had never thought (of it) with regards to the trying to conceive situation. I was (getting acupuncture), like, once a day at least. It was on a schedule, everything. For the first time in my life, I spent time in one place.”
Several other clients have claimed that acupuncture helped IVF success and some clinics even offer it as an adjuvant therapy to improve IVF success rates.
Progesterone supplements
Mariah was also prescribed progesterone supplements before conceiving and for the first part of her pregnancy. Progesterone helps with the maintenance of the uterine lining and research shows low progesterone can be a cause of early miscarriage.
“The main thing I did that was tough was to go on progesterone like every month… and then when I was pregnant, I had to stay with the progesterone for 10 weeks,” Mariah told Barbara Walters on 20/20 Friday Night.
Why didn’t Mariah Carey want to have more children?
Mariah and Nick successfully managed to conceive twins but the pregnancy was not smooth either and was classed as high-risk for various different reasons.
While carrying her twins, Mariah was diagnosed with both gestational diabetes and pre-eclampsia, which put her at risk of having pregnancy-related seizures. Due to these conditions, she was put on bed rest towards the end of her pregnancy, until the twins were delivered.
The singer has said that “I had a difficult pregnancy and was alone most of the time,” as Nick working away a lot during her pregnancy.
Mariah has said that being pregnant has put her off having any more children. Due to her very difficult and traumatic pregnancy, she states that she would not wish to go through this experience again.
Mariah Carey’s twin children
Mariah and Nick’s twins were born early due to high blood pressure caused by the pre-eclampsia. They were delivered at 35 weeks via Caesarean section, on April 30th, 2011, which was also the couple’s wedding anniversary.
They had a son and a daughter, named Moroccan and Monroe.
Regarding their choice of names, Nick told People magazine that they wanted something unique, but not crazy. “They won’t be crazy names like Carburetor or something. But they’re definitely unique.”
Mariah and Nick’s divorce
Sadly, in 2014 when the twins were 3 years old, Mariah and Nick divorced. Mariah revealed her shock at the breakdown of her marriage, stating that “I never thought I would have babies with someone and then get divorced.”
However, since their split, Nick and Mariah have remained extremely amicable, spending lots of days together as a family, perhaps for the sake of their two young children.