Amy Schumer opens up about her 'really tough' IVF struggles: 'I decided that I can’t be pregnant ever again'
Amy Schumer loves being a mother, but a second child may not be in the cards for her.
The comedian, 39, opened up to Willie Geist for Today’s “Sunday Sitdown” about parenting her 15-month-old son, Gene, amid a pandemic.
“Oh man. I mean, come on, he's just — life is just so much more beautiful,” she told Geist of her little one. “He’s the best thing in my life.”
But Schumer, who is married to chef Chris Fischer, has a realistic view of her future, and says expanding her family is most likely on hold. While she originally wanted to give Gene a sibling, her experience undergoing IVF to achieve a second pregnancy was extremely difficult.
“We did IVF, and IVF is really tough on me. I don’t think I could ever do IVF again, so I decided that I can’t be pregnant ever again,” said Schumer, who chronicled her journey to motherhood in the HBO Max documentary series Expecting Amy.
This past winter, Schumer shared some of her experience undergoing IVF on her Instagram page. She captioned a photo of her bruised belly asking for advice from others who have gone through it, saying the process made her “really run down and emotional.”
The procedure process resulted in the retrieval of 35 eggs, 26 of which were fertilized. From those, they got one viable embryo.
In addition to ruling out further IVF, Schumer and Fischer have opted against using a gestational surrogate carry their child.
“We thought about a surrogate, but I think we’re going to hold off for right now,” Schumer told Geist.
The struggle to get pregnant a second time came after Schumer’s extremely arduous pregnancy with Gene, during which she suffered from hyperemesis gravidarum, or extreme morning sickness. She was on the road performing during the difficult pregnancy.
“It was really, really hard, but I think probably every woman can relate strangely enough. Because for me going onstage and doing a show like that, even though it’s physical and everyone’s looking at you, it’s still my job. And so if you’re a teacher or a nurse or something, if you’re really sick, and you’re pregnant, and you still have to work, no one gives you any leeway,” she explained. “They really don’t.”
Schumer says she can’t quite imagine going back out on the road as a comedian for now. She enjoys staying home with her family too much, and the experience would be grueling.
“No, not for a while,” she told Geist. “It’s not good for you physically or mentally. I’m feeling really good about roots being down.”
She and Fischer have even turned their time at home into a new production. Amy Schumer Learn to Cook is the couple’s new Food Network show in which Fischer teaches Schumer how to make quarantine-themed meals. It’s a labor of love that’s made in the couple’s home, and is shot on camera by their beloved nanny. It’s a much quieter way of life for Schumer than just a few years back, when she skyrocketed to success thanks to her Comedy Central series Inside Amy Schumer, and her hit film Trainwreck.
“It feels like a long time ago. There’s no book to read. Like here’s what to do when you get famous very quickly. You kind of lose your identity in there until you go, actually I am a person and I’m not all these other things that you’re made to feel you need to fit into,” she said. “It’s really satisfying to get a grasp on that.”
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